Trump tariffs on steel, aluminum a 'disaster' for the U.S., think tank says

The study, which is in line with economists' broader analysis of tariffs, found that steel prices in the U.S. have jumped 33.9 per cent since February 2025

OTTAWA — U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum have been a “disaster” for the U.S. economy because they’ve fuelled inflation and failed to spur the promised growth in those industries, according to the author of a new think report.

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The Montreal Economic Institute report, to be released Thursday, found that steel and aluminum prices in the U.S. market have soared since Trump slapped tariffs on those two critical industrial sectors, while failing to create new jobs.

Not only have the tariffs led to sharply higher steel and aluminum prices, but the two sectors are key inputs in a wide variety of other products, the report found, that have also become more expensive. It’s left consumers and industrial buyers facing higher price tags on autos, aircraft, construction, machinery, and a wide range of other products.

“The United States has imposed on itself a historically large price shock with little protected sector employment or output growth to show for it,” concluded the report, titled Tariffs Deliver a Price Shock, Not an Industrial Revival.

The study, which is in line with economists’ broader analysis of tariffs, found that steel prices in the U.S. have jumped 33.9 per cent since February 2025, while aluminum prices have increased by 58 per cent. By comparison, prices in the Canadian market for those two metals have increased by only one and 26 per cent respectively.