President Donald Trump is hitting foreign steel and aluminum with a 25% tax. If that sounds familiar, it’s because he did pretty much the same thing during his first term. Trump’s original metals tariffs gave America’s struggling steel and aluminum producers some relief from intense global competition, allowing them to charge higher prices. In anticipation of the new tariffs, shares of steel and aluminum producers climbed Monday. But the tariffs took a toll last time, too, damaging U.S. relations with allies like Canada and Mexico and driving up costs for “downstream’’ U.S. producers that buy steel and aluminum and use them to manufacture goods.
