Donald Trump news: US plans to double steel tariffs to 50 per cent after court delivers ruling

US President Donald Trump says he plans to increase tariffs on foreign imports of steel from 25 to 50 per cent, ratcheting up pressure on global steel producers and vowing to deepen his trade war.

“We are going to be imposing a 25 per cent increase. We’re going to bring it from 25 per cent to 50 per cent the tariffs on steel into the United States of America, which will even further secure the steel industry in the United States,” he said at a rally in Pennsylvania on Friday.

The levy increase will take effect next week.

The steel tariffs, along with levies on aluminium, were among the earliest put into effect by Trump when he returned to office in January. The tariffs of 25 per cent on most steel and aluminium imported to the US went into effect in March, and he had briefly threatened a 50 per cent levy on Canadian steel but ultimately backed off.

Under the so-called Section 232 national security authority, the import taxes include both raw metals and derivative products as diverse as stainless steel sinks, gas ranges, air conditioner evaporator coils, horseshoes, aluminium fry pans and steel door hinges.

The total 2024 import value for the 289 product categories came to $US147.3 billion ($A229.1 billion) with nearly two-thirds aluminium and one-third steel, according to Census Bureau data retrieved through the US International Trade Commission’s Data Web system.

By contrast, President Trump’s first two rounds of punitive tariffs on Chinese industrial goods in 2018 during his first term totalled $US50 billion ($A78 billion) in annual import value.

The latest announcement from came quickly after a court ruled that the worldwide tariffs imposed on all nations by the Trump administration, that were dramatically blocked by a US trade court on Wednesday, will remain in effect as the legal process continues.

The controversial global tariffs have temporarily reinstated while a court reviews an appeal filed by the White House.

The development follows a ruling by a panel of three federal judges who blocked the tariffs, stating that the President had “overstepped his authority.”

The Trump administration is expected to take the case to the Supreme Court if it loses the appeal.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a stark warning, claiming the US “cannot function” if Mr Trump has his “trade negotiations railroaded by activist judges”.

Ms Leavitt urged the Supreme Court to “put an end to this for the sake of our constitution and our country.”

Australia will continue to push for the removal of Mr Trump’s “unjustified” tariffs.

Trade Minister Don Farrell said the Government would study the ruling closely, noting the duties might be subject to further legal proceedings.