Steel, aluminum for trailers tagged with 50% tariff

“It’s policy by tweet and fiat; there appears to be little regard for the impact of the tariffs," says market analyst
Aug. 25, 2025
4 min read

Key Highlights

  • The expansion covers products like trailers, wind turbines, heavy machinery, and railcars, all subject to a 50% tariff.
  • Trade groups support the tariffs as a means to protect U.S. manufacturing and address unfair foreign trade practices.
  • Industry analysts warn that ongoing tariff uncertainties complicate planning and could harm U.S. competitiveness.
  • Further tariff increases are anticipated, especially affecting manufacturers importing parts from abroad.
  • Critics argue that the broad, policy-by-tweet approach to tariffs undermines strategic trade planning and market stability.
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The U.S. Department of Commerce has added 407 product categories to the list of “derivative” steel and aluminum products covered by Section 232 sectoral tariffs, including commercial trailers.  As a result, the steel and aluminum content of these products will be subject to a duty rate of 50%, according to the August 19 announcement.

The action also covers products such as wind turbines and their parts, mobile cranes, bulldozers, and other heavy equipment, railcars, furniture, compressors and pumps, and hundreds of others. 

“Today’s action expands the reach of the steel and aluminum tariffs and shuts down avenues for circumvention—supporting the continued revitalization of the American steel and aluminum industries,” Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Jeffrey Kessler said.

The American Trailer Manufacturers Coalition in May asked Commerce to include refrigerated and dry van trailers, and their subassemblies in the Section 232 list. The ad hoc coalition of U.S. trailer manufacturers includes Great Dane, Stoughton Trailers, Strick Trailers, and Wabash, according to advisory firm Wiley Rein, which submitted the requests.

“The coalition welcomes the administration’s action to address the unfair trade practices impacting the U.S. chassis industry,” said Robert E. DeFrancesco, partner in Wiley’s International Trade Practice and counsel to the coalition. “Commerce’s decision to impose Section 232 derivative tariffs on these imports is an important step toward restoring fair competition and protecting domestic manufacturing.”

The American Primary Aluminum Association likewise applauded the action.

“The additional products now subject to the 50% aluminum tariff consume significant amounts of aluminum, largely sourced from foreign entities that do not play by free market rules," said APAA President Mark Duffy. "This action sends a clear message that the United States will continue to strengthen the tariff program to combat ongoing predatory trade behaviors that harm our industry and the hardworking Americans it supports."

More to come

But wait, that’s not all.

ACT Research
Ken Vieth
Ken Vieth

Speaking after the ACT Research August 20-21 “Market Vitals” outlook conference, ACT President and Sr. Analyst Ken Vieth suggested that another round of Section 232 tariffs likely would be coming  soon.

“The manufacturers that are producing in the United States—that are bringing in parts with tariffs on them—are being disadvantaged by those tariffs whereas competitors who are manufacturing autos and trucks in Mexico are not, as an example,” Vieth said. “If you're bringing that truck across the Mexican border as a USMCA-compliant vehicle, you're not paying the same tariff load that someone manufacturing in the United States is. So the scuttlebutt in the industry is that that announcement is likely to drop sometime before the end of the month.”

And that ever-changing trade environment makes the job of market analysts such as ACT Research exceedingly challenging.

“We joked earlier in the year that it probably would have been advisable to time-stamp our forecast,” Vieth said, recalling that the tariff plan with China changed while he was onstage making a presentation last May. “In real time, this is impacting the work. The on-again, off-again cadence of the tariff announcements has certainly made it very difficult to forecast. I can't imagine being a manufacturer: It's another thing when you're planning materials, planning labor, and trying to run a production facility.”

The real problem is less the tariffs themselves than the way they are being implemented, Vieth concluded. He noted that the tariff plan from the first Trump administration, while harmful—though much of the impact was “lost” in the statistical confusion of the covid pandemic—were “very targeted and specific” and “kind of rational.”

This time around, not so much.

“It’s policy by tweet and fiat; there appears to be little regard for the impact of the tariffs, and the optics are almost more important than what is trying to be accomplished,” he said. “This just seems to be a global tariff-fest with a sledgehammer.”

See the August print edition of TBB ffor more discussion of the Trump administration tariff plans.

About the Author

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Kevin Jones

Editor

Kevin has served as editor-in-chief of Trailer/Body Builders magazine since 2017—just the third editor in the magazine’s 60 years. He is also editorial director for Endeavor Business Media’s Commercial Vehicle group, which includes FleetOwner, Bulk Transporter, Refrigerated Transporter, American Trucker, and Fleet Maintenance magazines and websites.

Working from Beaufort, S.C., Kevin has covered trucking and manufacturing for nearly 20 years. His writing and commentary about the trucking industry and, previously, business and government, has been recognized with numerous state, regional, and national journalism awards.

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