US President Donald Trump's tariff "storm" could have serious consequences for Ukraine.
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| Mr. Trump said that steel imports from Ukraine pose a threat to US national security. (Source: THX) |
The Trump administration decided to impose a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imported from Ukraine, starting March 12, citing national security reasons.
According to a statement from the White House, Mr. Trump said that importing steel from Ukraine poses a threat to US national security.
"Although the Biden administration exempted Kiev steel from tariffs in 2022 to support the economy amid the conflict with Moscow, the real benefits of this exemption mainly belonged to producers in the European Union (EU)," the White House boss pointed out.
According to him, EU countries have taken advantage of the duty-free order to export steel processed from raw materials from Ukraine to the US. Meanwhile, the market share of steel imported from the Eastern European country accounts for only 0.5% of the total steel imports of the world's largest economy.
Difficulty on top of difficulty
The Zaporizhstal Steel Plant in the Zaporizhzhia region of southeastern Ukraine is one of the country's largest steel plants. For the past three years, the plant has been affected by the special military operation.
Now, President Trump's tariff announcement has added to the uncertainty.
According to the plant's owner - international mining and metals company Metinvest Group - over the past three years, Zaporizhstal has been operating at 75% capacity and with less than 12% of its staff.
To maintain operations, Metinvest Group must import 1 million tons of coal each year from Europe and the US.
The military campaign in particular brought major challenges to Metinvest Group, including rising energy costs and disruptions to trade routes, forcing the company to shift its focus from serving Asia and the Middle East to seeking clients in Europe.
There are concerns that the US steel tariffs will have unwanted spillover effects, such as European countries imposing import duties on Ukrainian products to offset the new duties, said Oleksandr Myronenko, CEO of Metinvest Group.
“This will be a very important issue for us,” said Mr. Myronenko.
Not only Ukraine suffered?
| The tariffs would significantly damage Ukraine's steel industry, which has already faced difficulties due to the prolonged conflict with Russia. |
Ukrainian officials say the US president's decision could hurt a vital sector in the struggling economy.
The Ukrainian Steel Association warned that if the import duties from the world's largest economy come into effect as planned on March 12, the steel industry will lose 2.4 billion hryvnias (equivalent to 55.34 million euros) in revenue and the government will lose 1 billion hryvnias (22.9 million euros) in taxes per year.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko commented: "Imposing tariffs will cause significant damage to Ukraine's steel industry, which has already faced many difficulties due to the prolonged conflict with Russia."
Minister Svyrydenko also expressed readiness to negotiate with US officials to maintain access to this market.
The Eastern European country also hopes to receive an exemption until March 2026 for steel products produced in Ukraine and products produced in the European Union (EU) but originating from Ukrainian steel.
Explaining this desire, the Ukrainian Steel Association said that maintaining the steel tax exemption will provide essential support to the country, helping businesses maintain operations, contributing to the national budget and supporting the economy.
Recalling similar tariffs imposed by the Trump administration in 2018, Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak said that it was not just Ukraine that suffered. At that time, steel imports into the world’s largest economy dropped significantly, but steel prices in the United States itself rose, hurting steel-using industries such as auto manufacturing.
The country's major automakers such as Ford and General Motors (GM) have suffered losses due to rising raw material costs.
In addition, this congressman also assessed that the tariffs proposed by the White House owner do not solve the problem of global competition. For example, China has sought to overcome tariff barriers by expanding production to other countries, causing the world's largest economy to still face great competitive pressure.
Source: https://baoquocte.vn/president-trump-insults-vulnerable-to-ukraine-kiev-co-the-lom-vi-my-kho-tranh-thiet-hai-304848.html
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