Updated Feb. 18, 2025

The U.S. is restoring tariffs on steel and aluminum imports while “dramatically” increasing its oversight to prevent circumvention.

President Donald Trump signed a proclamation levying 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum. Reciprocal tariffs will be imposed immediately if any country retaliates.

“Very simply, if they charge us, we charge them,” Trump says.

It appears Europe will retaliate.

“Tariffs are taxes — bad for business, worse for consumers,” Ursula von der Leyen, leader of the European Union, told the Associated Press. “Unjustified tariffs on the EU will not go unanswered. They will trigger firm and proportionate countermeasures.”

Tariff Evasion Measures

The proclamation establishes “Melt and Pour” and “Smelt and Cast” standards for steel and aluminum, respectively. These measures aim to prevent steel- and aluminum-producing countries from sending materials to Canada or Mexico where they are finished, relabeled and shipped to the U.S. to avoid tariffs.

“President Trump is standing up for American steel and aluminum workers like no other leader has,” according to a statement attributed to Peter Navarro, a White House adviser on trade. “Steel and aluminum tariffs 2.0 will put an end to foreign dumping, boost domestic production and secure our steel and aluminum industries as the backbone and pillar industries of America’s economic and national security.”

In addition, the U.S. will scrutinize metal imports more closely.

“U.S. Customs and Border Protection will now rigorously investigate and penalize all tariff evasion and misclassification,” according to Navarro.

Tariffs & the Farrier Industry

Trump imposed 25% tariffs on imported steel and a 10% duty on aluminum from all countries except Canada and Mexico in 2018. The Biden administration later rescinded the tariffs from all countries except China.

Comparing the effects on the farrier economy then to predict what might occur now is an apples and oranges comparison, says Roy Bloom, owner of Bloom Forge in Drummond, Wis.

“Everything went up and they haven’t come down,” recalls the Hall of Fame farrier. “I don’t know whether it was because of the tariffs or if it was just everything that happened during Covid. A lot of it was not just the steel itself but the shipping. Shipping costs went up because fuel prices went right through the roof. I firmly believe that most of the increases stemmed from fuel prices.”

Before Covid, it cost Bloom Forge $94 to ship 300 pounds of material. The amount rose to $124 when shipping between 300-500 pounds. It’s significantly more today.

“Now, it costs $190 and it’s all shipping,” Bloom says. “It has nothing to do with tariffs. It’s just oil prices. Even my garbage collection has a fuel recovery charge on it of almost $45. I don’t know if I can say that the tariffs affected metal prices.”

While Bloom Forge relies on American tool steel for hammers, punches, fullers and other products, those prices have been rising, as well.

“Tool steel has been slowly creeping up since before Covid,” he says. “A steel handle for a weld-on tool is ¼-by-¾ flat stock. That used to cost 25 cents a foot and now it’s almost 80 cents a foot.”

The tariffs present a difficult decision and customer conversation for manufacturers and suppliers.

“How do you balance that out on the other end?” Bloom asks. “You just got this increase, do you raise your prices, too? Your usual 3% increase every year doesn’t cover it. What do you do with this? I don’t know. And how long is it going to take to for this to trickle down? Certainly, the stock that’s in everybody’s warehouse right now isn’t affected. So, it will only be on new product coming in.”

Some metal suppliers are contacting farrier industry manufacturers and retailers to keep them abreast of the economics.

“For existing contracts and open orders, pricing will be honored according to the terms in effect at the time of shipment,” according to a letter from Hadco Metal Trading to its customers, including Genoa, N.Y.-based Stonewell Bodies. “However, should price increases from the mills necessitate adjustments your account manager will contact you to discuss the necessary changes. We fully understand the challenges posed by rising raw material costs and are actively exploring alternative solutions to help mitigate the impact.”

In a Facebook post, Stonewell stated that it will remain in daily contact with their suppliers.

“This could be real or it could be very manageable,” according to the post. “We purchase as much as possible from U.S. steel and aluminum producers, but it’s a global market.”

One unidentified vendor provided an update Feb. 18 to Stonewell concerning aluminum plate prices.

“As expected and based on our President’s current policies on tariffs in the news, we are now seeing mills announcing cost increases,” according to the announcement provided to Stonewell. “From our three domestic aluminum plate mills, we now know that any open orders or new orders shipped after April 1st will have a $0.15 per lb. cost increase. This is all we know so far, but we are expecting future announcements in other commodities, as well.”