President Donald Trump's decision to forge ahead with an import tax of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum could cost manufacturers billions and lead to job loss, the Aerospace Industries Association reiterated yesterday. Trump yesterday signed separate proclamations to impose the tariffs, but did provide exemptions for Canada and Mexico and suggested a willingness to consider other exemptions.

“We are disappointed that the President has decided to move forward with tariffs on steel and aluminum,” said AIA president and CEO Eric Fanning. “Our industry employs 2.4 million people and produced a trade surplus of $86 billion last year. Tariffs on aluminum and steel would jeopardize that surplus and put those jobs at risk.”

AIA stressed the importance of access to competitively priced global sources of aluminum and steel to aerospace and pointed to analyst predictions that the tariff on aluminum alone could add nearly $2 billion in costs to U.S. manufacturing. The association plans to work with the White House and Congress “to find better solutions to strengthen American industry,” Fanning added.