Trump warns of up to 200% import tariffs, highlights Oklahoma aluminium plant project

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US President Donald Trump has reiterated his administration's commitment to expanding domestic manufacturing, warning that companies producing goods outside the US could face tariffs of up to 200 per cent, depending on the product category.

Post the NATO summit held in Ankara, Trump said his trade policy is intended to encourage manufacturers to establish production facilities within the US while supporting key industrial sectors, including aluminium and steel.

Regarding his earlier presidency, Trump mentioned tariffs helped revive the domestic steel industry and argued that similar measures continue to support US manufacturing.

"If you build your product here, you pay no tariff. If you don't, you pay a 25 per cent tariff… 35 per cent sometimes… sometimes a 100 per cent, 200 per cent, depending on what the product is," he said.

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Aluminium manufacturing highlighted

Trump also emphasised the development of a large-scale Oklahoma aluminium plant project, which he described as the world's largest aluminium plant.

The USD 4 billion Oklahoma Primary Aluminum plant project remains in the technical study and regulatory approval phase. Once operational, the project is expected to reinforce domestic primary aluminium production, generating USD 1.3 billion (approx.) in state and local tax revenues over 30 years.

It is also projected to create around 1,000 direct and 2,000 indirect jobs.

Trump further referred to previous proposals of tariff imposition on countries with digital services taxes (DSTs) on US companies. Last month, he indicated that nations adopting such measures could “immediately be met with a 100 per cent tariff on any and all goods sent to the United States of America.”

Toyota investment and AI industry growth

Citing Toyota Motor Corp.'s recent plans to shift most production of its Tacoma pickup truck from Mexico to Texas over the next four years, Trump said that because of a 25 per cent tariff imposition, “Toyota is leaving Mexico, and they’re going to build one of the biggest car manufacturing plants in the world in Texas.”

Toyota has decided to invest USD 3.6 billion to expand its manufacturing operations in Texas. The investment will add a new assembly line to the company's existing manufacturing campus, which already includes vehicle assembly operations and a rear axle plant soon to be commissioned.

Trump suggested that the investment indicated the growing influence of US tariff policies on manufacturers' long-term production strategies.

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Additionally, Trump pointed to the accelerating expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, stating that the administration had asked major technology companies to develop dedicated power generation facilities instead of depending solely on the existing electricity grid.

"Some of the AI… we let them build their own electric plants," Trump said, adding, "They need, just as an industry, more energy than the entire country produces right now."

Trump's remarks reinforced his administration's strategy of using tariffs to encourage domestic manufacturing and investment to boost US industrial capacity, especially in strategic sectors like aluminium, semiconductors, automobiles, AI and pharmaceuticals.