Trump plans to roll back some tariffs on steel and aluminum products – report | News24

US President Donald Trump hit steel and aluminum imports with tariffs of up to 50% last year and has repeatedly used tariffs as a negotiating tool with a range of trading partners

Officials at the Commerce Department and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative believe the tariffs will harm consumers by raising prices for goods including cake pans and food and beverage cans, the FT report said.

Voters across the country are concerned about consumer prices, and concerns about the cost of living are expected to be a major factor for Americans heading into the midterm elections in November.

A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 30% of Americans approved of Trump’s handling of the rising cost of living, while 59% disapproved, including nine in 10 Democrats and one in five Republicans.

Trump hit steel and aluminum imports with tariffs of up to 50% last year and has repeatedly used tariffs as a negotiating tool with a range of trading partners.

The Trump administration is now reviewing a list of products subject to the tariffs and plans to exempt some items, halt the expansion of the lists and instead launch more targeted national security investigations into specific goods, the FT report said.

The White House and Commerce Department did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment outside regular business hours.

Trump recently touted his economic record in Detroit, aiming to refocus attention on U.S. manufacturing and efforts to tackle high consumer costs as the White House tries to show it is addressing the economic concerns gripping American households.

The U.S. Commerce Department last year raised tariffs on steel and aluminum on more than 400 products, including wind turbines, mobile cranes, appliances, bulldozers and other heavy equipment, along with rail cars, motorcycles, marine engines, furniture and hundreds of other products.