London aluminum plunges! Report: The U.S. is considering partially lifting aluminum and steel tariffs.

According to media reports on Friday, in response to mounting inflation and to salvage voter support ahead of the midterm elections, the Trump administration is planning to scale back its tariffs on steel and aluminum products. This policy shift indicates that in the face of voter anger over the cost-of-living crisis, the White House is attempting to recalibrate its trade protectionist stance to lessen direct impacts on American consumers.

According to a CCTV News report, U.S. President Trump signed an executive order on February 10, 2025, announcing a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports.

Citing three sources, media outlets report that the Trump administration is currently reviewing the list of products affected by tariffs, planning to exempt certain items and halt the expansion of tariffs. Instead, the government will launch more targeted “national security investigations” aimed at specific products rather than applying broad-based tariffs. Officials from the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative believe that broad tariffs have increased prices for items like pie tins, food and beverage cans, and are harming consumer interests.

This reassessment marks a softening of the Trump administration’s trade stance. Last summer, the President imposed tariffs as high as 50% on steel and aluminum imports and expanded tariffs to downstream metal products like washing machines and ovens, pushing U.S. tariff levels to their highest point since WWII. However, economists point out that it is actually Americans who pay for these tariffs, which undermines the President’s claim that foreign companies would bear the burden.

The market reacted swiftly to this news. London Metal Exchange (LME) aluminum futures prices fell sharply, dropping 1.08% intraday, now quoted at $3,066.5/ton, reflecting expectations that supply-side pressures may ease.

Addressing Inflation and Election Pressure

The adjustment in tariff policy comes at a time when the U.S. “affordability crisis” is intensifying. According to a Pew Research Center poll released this month, more than 70% of American adults rate the economy as “average” or “poor,” and about 52% of Americans believe Trump’s economic policies have made things worse. In order to curb grocery price inflation for ordinary Americans, the government previously granted exemptions for some popular food items and, following retaliatory tariffs from Beijing, reached a trade truce with China.

With the midterm elections approaching in November, several Republican lawmakers are facing tough races in their states, and voters’ concerns about tariffs affecting small businesses and consumers have become a focal point. This political backlash has even spread within the Republican Party itself.

On Wednesday, House Republicans joined Democrats in voting against Trump’s tariffs on Canada, a significant rebuke to the administration’s trade war against America’s second largest trading partner. Although Trump is expected to veto the bill to maintain tariffs, this highlights the growing political isolation of the tariff policy.

Simplifying Complex Enforcement and Lobbying Mechanisms

Beyond political considerations, chaos in administrative enforcement is also a key driver behind the adjustment. Insiders told media that officials believe the current tariff system is “too complex to implement” and urgently needs simplification. The current mechanism allows American companies to use so-called “inclusion” procedures to lobby the government to impose tariffs on foreign competitors’ products. This process is managed mainly by the Department of Commerce and has approved a large number of requests from domestic companies.

However, this mechanism has resulted in an enormous list of household items subject to metal-content tariffs as high as 50%, and inconsistent enforcement standards. A European business leader revealed that a company sent four containers with identical machinery to the U.S. but was charged different tax rates. The Department of Commerce previously set a 60-day deadline for approving new tariff nominations but failed to meet it, showing an overburdened administrative system.

Abuse and Overextension of National Security Grounds

The current lobbying procedure has sparked widespread controversy, with companies invoking “national security” to request tariffs on rival products. In nearly 100 documents, U.S. manufacturers demanded tariffs on foreign goods such as mattresses, cake molds, and bicycles. One company even argued in its application that “without bread, bagels, baguettes, rolls, cakes, muffins, etc.,” U.S. military personnel would be “unable to maintain a healthy diet”—claiming related baking molds were a national security risk.

This policy adjustment aims to bring clarity to Washington’s increasingly complex lobbying process. If tariffs are relaxed, countries including the UK, Mexico, Canada, and EU member states, as well as their steel and aluminum exporters, will benefit. As of now, the Department of Commerce, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and the White House have all declined to comment.

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