Trump’s 50% steel tariffs are coming for your next fridge and dishwasher

The Trump administration will soon ensure that its 50% steel tariffs, which have threatened to make everything containing steel more expensive, will apply to your next fridge or dishwasher.

The Trump administration will soon ensure that its 50% steel tariffs, which have threatened to make everything containing steel more expensive, will apply to your next fridge or dishwasher. The Commerce Department, in a notice set to be published in the federal register Monday, said the recently increased steel tariffs would also apply to consumer appliances that contain steel. Those so-called derivative products will be taxed an additional 50% for the amount of steel they contain, starting on June 23. Those products will include refrigerators, dryers, washing machines, dishwashers, freezers, ovens, garbage disposals and wire racks. President Donald Trump’s broader tariffs have increased costs for some American manufacturers. Many parts and components are subject to Trump’s tariffs, because they have no American-made alternatives – or the alternatives are more expensive than foreign products. And American appliance makers have griped about how competitors can effectively skirt those same tariffs by shipping completed products that aren’t subject to the 50% levies. That’s why the administration announced its so-called inclusion process aimed at preventing foreign competitors from getting around those tariffs. In theory, tariffs on imported appliances will make American-made dryers, ovens and other appliances more competitive compared with foreign equivalents, which are often made with relatively inexpensive parts and cheaper labor. At a US Steel facility in Pennsylvania two weeks ago, Trump announced he would set tariffs on steel imported into the United States at 50%, double their previous rate. He said some companies were skirting the tariffs when they were set at 25%, but he doubted anyone would be able to avoid them after he doubled the rate.