Rep. Courtney on Trump’s Tariff War Impacts on Shipbuilders

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, while Rep. Joe Courtney (CT-02) discussed the real-life consequences of President Trump’s tariff war on shipbuilders during a Seapower hearing, the President announced he plans to raise tariffs for Canadian steel and aluminum from 25 to 50% beginning tomorrow.  

The economy is reeling from President Trump’s tariff war. The Wall Street Journal reported that the S&P 500 had its largest decline since 2022 and that all three major indexes that indicate the health of the economy –  the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq – are now below their levels recorded on Election Day in November 2024. 

Despite the every-day impacts of the President’s tariff war, House Republicans have doubled down in support and are forcing a measure through the House Floor today that would shut down Congress’ ability to provide oversight of and stop the President’s tariff war. 

“I met with shipbuilders in Hartford who are experiencing a big spike in the price of rolled steel – both foreign & domestic – because of Trump's tariff war. Now he is DOUBLING his tariff tax to 50% on all steel & aluminum from Canada. President Trump is blowing up our shared goal of building ships ‘faster and bigger’,” Courtney said. 

In Rep. Courtney’s statement for the record, he added: “Further, the President’s back-and-forth threats to impose steel and aluminum tariffs on our allies, such as Canada and Australia, are completely counterproductive to shipbuilding. These tariffs will increase the cost of contracts paid by the Government – and the taxpayer –and delay commercial contracts, inevitably risking shipyards business. Even without the tariffs currently active, the price of steel continues to climb, affecting not only shipbuilding, but manufacturing at large. The trade publication – “Steel Industry News” – reported on February 20^th that the impeding section 232 tariff reinstatements are driving double digit increases for the price of steel – both domestic and imported.”  

In January, the bipartisan think-tank CSIS issued a report on the consequences of tariffs to critical materials including aluminum, steel, and nickel. 

“Warships and submarines use nickel-containing stainless steel for hulls and other components to resist corrosion in water. Nickel alloys are a vital part of ammunition and weaponry. Nickel is used for missile casings and guidance systems due to their durability and high heat resistance. 

“Undermining the cost competitiveness of mineral inputs like nickel and aluminum is likely going to be a deterrent to accelerating domestic manufacturing efforts for vital defense technologies,” the report stated.

The President’s announcement today is in addition to the 25% tariff set to go into effect at 12:01am March 12 for all steel and aluminum imports into the U.S. 

As Rep. Courtney, Co-Chair of the Friends of Australia Caucus, said on the House Floor in February, “Today, the U.S. economy has a trade surplus with Australia. We export more into Australia than they export back to us. They have been a signatory with a free trade agreement with no tariffs going back to 2002… 

“What we're seeing is a completely needless, almost insult to the people of Australia by raising tariffs of Australian products coming into this country. At the same time, we are working with them and they are buying three nuclear submarines, cash on the barrelhead, full price, no gimmes, no giveaway. So again, by all the measurements that President Trump talks about trade issues that we're being ripped off by other countries, in this case, every one of those arguments fails.” 

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