President Trump's latest threat of 50% tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum upended markets Tuesday, but his plan for an increase of any level could be heartily welcomed by American manufacturers of those products.
"We stand fully behind your leadership," nine US steel industry executives said in a recent letter to the president about a set of 25% duties planned on all steel and aluminum imports from all countries set to come into force tomorrow.
Trump surprised markets on Tuesday by announcing that he would by going higher and imposing "an ADDITIONAL 25% Tariff, to 50%," on steel and aluminum from Canada on top of the previously announced 25% duties that start Wednesday.
He then suggested later in the day that those tariffs may not happen after Ontario's premier said it would suspend a surcharge on exports of electricity.
"I'll let you know," Trump told reporters as Philip Bell, the Steel Manufacturers Association president, added in a live Yahoo Finance interview Tuesday afternoon that he hopes at least the 25% duties stay in place.
Stocks quickly sold off Tuesday morning as the president also elevated his war of words with Canada but then whipsawed up and down on the competing headlines.
Read more: What Trump's tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet
"It's more uncertainty, it's more chaos, he changes his mind on a whim," Slatestone Wealth chief market strategist Kenny Polcari said in another Yahoo Finance live appearance at one point.
But Tuesday morning's fresh round of agita belies a more nuanced view of Trump's 25% duties within the steel and aluminum industry after years of executives expressing concern about things like "steel dumping" from China.
And there is now bipartisan ire about subsidized Chinese steel undercutting world markets, leading many CEOs in the sector to actively cheer on Trump's most protectionist impulses.
Executives also have a familiar legal and political playbook for this week's steel and aluminum tariffs after Trump undertook similar actions during his first term — even though the duties do represent a mixed bag for some with closer economic ties to Canada.
'We urge you to resist any requests for exceptions'
One example of the industry support for Trump has come in the form of the recent letter sent to the president from the heads of US Steel ( X ), Nucor ( NUE ), and Cleveland Cliffs ( CLF ), among others, touting the plan for 25% blanket duties.
"We urge you to resist any requests for exceptions or exclusions and to continue standing strong on behalf of American steel," the letter said, according to a copy reviewed by Yahoo Finance.
"We stand fully behind your leadership," it added.
The letter also touted Trump's similar 2018 action on steel and aluminum that imposed 25% duties but mostly focused on China. The letter said it allowed American producers to reinvest and drive up capacity by nearly 80%.
Some in the aluminum industry have also spoken favorably about Trump's plans, with White House aides also touting the support of the industry in remarks this week about why the duties would be going forward.
But the reaction has been somewhat more mixed among some CEOs in a reflection of greater interrelationships between the US and Canada.
Alcoa ( AA ) CEO William Oplinger recently said that his aluminum-manufacturing company would be hurt by the tariffs, given both increased prices and because of the company's extensive operations in Canada.
"This is bad for the aluminum industry in the US," Oplinger said at a conference, adding that the bottom line is that 100,000 US jobs were at stake even before Trump's latest threat this week doubled the tariffs on Canadian aluminum.
The final consumers of steel and aluminum products are also likely to be less enamored with Trump's move as evidence mounts that it could raise an array of prices.
Domestic steel prices jumped in February when Trump announced his plan, with the price of a ton of domestic steel now nearly $1,000 a ton from around $700 previously.
A recent Bloomberg report found that consumer products from aluminum baseball bats to stainless steel pans to fishing reels could see higher prices as a result.
'They're not competing. They're cheating.'
Still, the language from many of these pro-tariff executives is also very similar to Trump's own reasoning for his focus on steel and aluminum.
Trump has described this week's action as a sort of unfinished business after he imposed 25% duties on steel and aluminum in his first term but with exceptions that, in his view, allowed cheap Chinese products to continue undercutting the market by moving through third-party countries.
"It's 25% without exceptions or exemptions and that's all countries, no matter where it comes from," the president said when announcing his plan in February.
Increased steel tariffs were also often advocated by then-President Biden, who talked about tripling them and told a Pittsburgh crowd in 2024 of China, "They're not competing. They're cheating."
The bulk of this week's move is also being made using presidential tariff authority under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, making it a formal continuation of the steel and aluminum tariffs that Trump launched during his first term.
These "Section 232" tariffs are much more familiar to business leaders than the tariffs Trump has imposed so far using emergency authority derived from the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977.
Trump also announced Tuesday he would be declaring a national emergency on electricity in response to Canadian moves to impose an additional fee on US electricity consumers.
Trump promised that "this will allow the US to quickly do what has to be done to alleviate this abusive threat from Canada."
This post has been updated with additional developments.
Ben Werschkul is Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.
Every Friday, Yahoo Finance's Rick Newman and Ben Werschkul bring you a unique look at how US policy and government affects your bottom line on Capitol Gains. Watch or listen to Capitol Gains on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
