Trump's tariffs will hit Ukrainian steel in March, Kyiv seeks solution

Yuliia Svyrydenko, Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, has stated that Ukraine will continue actively working with its partners to find the best possible solution for the steel industry before the new US tariffs take effect.

US President Donald Trump decided to impose 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium imports. He signed a decree on Monday, 10 February, cancelling Ukraine's temporary exemption from duties on imports of steel and steel products.

The decree states that all previous exemptions for Ukraine on imports of steel and steel products will be cancelled starting 12 March 2025.

From that date, Ukraine will be subject to a 25% tariff, the same as all other countries.

Trump claims that the removal of tariffs on Ukrainian steel benefited European manufacturers rather than Ukrainian ones. The decree notes that Ukraine’s share of total US steel imports remained at 0.5%, while imports from the EU increased from 11.2% to 14.8%.

Svyrydenko said that the Ministry of Economy had made every effort "to keep Ukrainian steel out of the 25% tariffs in the US".

"The US decision to impose tariffs on our steel on 12 March will naturally affect the steel industry, which has suffered from the Russian war," Svyrydenko said on X (Twitter).

Svyrydenko stated that Ukraine remains committed to working with partners to find an optimal solution before 12 March.

Even before receiving official notification regarding the imposition of additional tariffs on EU goods, the European Commission called Trump’s decision "unlawful and economically counterproductive".

French President Emmanuel Macron argued that imposing US tariffs on European Union goods could harm the American economy by driving inflation.

On 11 February, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned that unjustified tariffs on the EU would not go unanswered.