President Trump has doubled the rate on foreign metals to 50%, saying the levies weren’t high enough to help the U.S. industry.

The United States and Mexico are negotiating a deal to reduce or eliminate President Donald Trump's 50% steel tariffs on imports up to a certain volume, industry and trade sources said on Tuesday.

US President Donald Trump has signed an order doubling tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from 25% to 50%. The move hikes import taxes on the metals - key inputs in everything from cars to canned food - for the second time since March.

The US and Mexico are closing in on a deal that would remove President Donald Trump’s 50% tariffs on steel imports up to a certain volume, according to people familiar with the matter, a revamp of a similar deal between the trade partners during his first term.

Zhu Keli, founding director of the China Institute of New Economy, said the expansion of steel tariffs will bring about challenges to Chinese household appliance makers in the short term, as some enterprises with high reliance on the US market may witness a decline in export orders.

U.S. tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum doubled from 25% to 50%, escalating an ongoing trade war that is already weighing heavily on the global economy.

During a Pennsylvania rally on Friday, the president told steelworkers he would hike the tax on steel imports so Pittsburgh would be “respected around the world as the Steel City again.”

Trump administration tariffs on all imported aluminum and steel are now in effect as the United States launched a 50% duty directly on those materials Wednesday.

In return, Trump said, the U.S. will provide China "what was agreed to," including allowing Chinese students to attend American colleges and universities.