John Authers, Columnist

Markets Hedge That This Time, Trump Means It

Sooner or later, he has to make tariffs stick. With China already testing tit-for-tat, steel and aluminum might be the time.

February 11, 2025 at 5:01 AM UTC

Corrected

February 11, 2025 at 5:33 AM UTC

By John Authers

John Authers is a senior editor for markets and Bloomberg Opinion columnist. A former chief markets commentator at the Financial Times, he is author of “The Fearful Rise of Markets.”

Will steel and aluminum be different?
Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg

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Two can play that game. China’s retaliatory tariffs against the US quietly came into effect on Monday. The muted market reaction was understandable. Beijing’s response was largely symbolic, showing its fangs rather than biting. Now, the world has to interpret Donald Trump’s announcement of 25% levies on imports of steel and aluminum from everyone (not just China), announced in the Oval Office shortly before we sat down to finish this newsletter. His language was strong: