24% steel tariff?

Ross wants Trump to impose duties

Shares in US aluminum and steel companies surged after the Commerce Department recommended that President Trump impose a range of restrictions on imports — from tariffs to quotas.

In a briefing with reporters on Friday over the results of his department’s investigation, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross proposed a 24 percent global tariff on steel shipments coming into the US and a 7.7 percent duty on aluminum imports.

Trump has the latitude to choose between those options or find another solution.

The recommendations pushed up Century Aluminum 8.3 percent, while Alcoa fell less than 1 percent. Aluminum on the London Metal Exchange rose as much as 2.4 percent.

Among steelmakers, Nucor, the largest American producer, closed up 4.5 percent, to $68.54, after rising 6 percent during the session, its biggest intraday increase since November 2016. US Steel soared 15 percent, closing at $44.75.

Trump instructed Commerce last year to probe whether imports of steel and aluminum represent a threat to national security.

Ross last month submitted his department’s final reports to Trump — who now has until about mid-April to decide on any potential action.

Imposing tariffs on such widely used commodities may trigger retaliatory measures from China, the world’s biggest producer of steel and aluminum.

It could also inflate manufacturing and consumer prices in the US, and inflame tensions with allies such as Japan, India, Germany and Canada.

Trump is facing resistance to tariffs from lawmakers in his own party. At a meeting this week at the White House, at least seven Republican lawmakers argued against any action that might set off a tit-for-tat response from China or other countries.