Cliffs stock prices surged Monday nearly 18%. Other domestic steel manufacturers picked up as well: U.S. Steel rose almost 5%. Nucor increased almost 6%, and Steel Dynamics rose about 5%.
Steel stocks were quieter and mixed in early trading Tuesday, with five of them either up or down 1-2%. Cliffs was down about 1.6% around 1 p.m.
Trump on Monday removed the exceptions and exemptions from his 2018 tariffs on steel, meaning that all steel imports will be taxed at a minimum of 25%. Trump also hiked his 2018 aluminum tariffs to 25% from 10%.
Cliffs Chairman, President, and CEO Lourenco Goncalves in a Feb. 3 financial report praised Trump’s approach to trade and urged tariffs on steel “against our adversaries and allies who have taken advantage of our market.”
“A level playing field in steel will set the foundation to usher in a new golden era and a manufacturing renaissance that will make America strong again,” Goncalves said in a release.
In the Feb. 3 report, the company reported 2024 was the worst year for domestic steel demand since 2010 (not counting 2020 and the impacts of COVID). The company projected 15.6 million tons of steel shipments and roughly $19.2 billion in revenue in 2024.
The report says lower earnings were largely due to muted demand for steel from the North American automotive industry.
“So far into this new year, we have already seen improvements in our order book, both automotive and non-automotive, and are confident that the manufacturing-friendly items on President Trump’s agenda will have an outsized benefit on Cleveland-Cliffs,” Goncalves said.
While the tariffs could help the finances of steel mills and aluminum smelters, they could also increase costs for the manufacturers that use the metals as raw materials to make autos, appliances and other products.
Glenn Stevens Jr., executive director of MichAuto, said that the auto industry would likely need to raise prices in response to the tariffs. In turn, higher prices could decrease sales and hurt companies' bottom lines, leading to fewer factory jobs.
“If you look at sudden tariffs to a system, there isn’t a lot of good that comes out of that,” said Stevens, his remarks challenging Trump’s own statements that his policies would stimulate massive gains in auto industry jobs.
This story includes reporting from Josh Boak of the Associated Press.
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