President Donald Trump said he would be increasing tariffs on steel and aluminum to 50% from 25%, saying the move would help protect American workers, as he visited a United States Steel Corp. plant on Friday.

Trump had gone to the plant near Pittsburgh to champion an expected deal between US Steel and Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp. as one that would ensure the iconic American firm remains US-owned and operated, even as many details on the agreement remain vague. He said the steel tariff increase would benefit the new venture’s American operations.

“I believe that this group of people that just made this investments right now are very happy, because that means that nobody’s going to be able to steal your industry,” Trump said. “It’s at 25%, they can sort of get over that fence, at 50% they can no longer get over the fence.”

Trump announced the increased steel tariffs at the event and said he would also raise aluminum rates in a post to his Truth Social platform after the rally. The post said the new rates would become “effective Wednesday, June 4.”

The tariff announcement capped a tumultuous stretch that saw a trade court rule his sweeping “reciprocal” tariff regime illegal, only for an appeals court to offer a stay keeping the levies temporarily in place. Earlier Friday, Trump also registered his frustration with China — which he accused of reneging on a tariff truce negotiated earlier this month — raising the prospect of additional import taxes.

The new 50% level also offers a backstop for Trump’s promise that the US Steel-Nippon deal, which he opposed on the campaign trail, would benefit steelworkers in the critical battleground state of Pennsylvania. The deal was opposed by the United Steelworkers, who worried Japanese ownership could see capacity reduced and jobs shifted to other plants.

“There’s a lot of money coming your way,” Trump added, as he spoke in front of signs reading “The Golden Age” — a reference to the economic boom he says his policies will unleash — as well as “American Steel” and “American Jobs.”

Shares of other US steel companies including Nucor Corp., Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. and Steel Dynamics Inc. rallied in after-hours trading. Cleveland-Cliffs shares jumped more than 15%, while Steel Dynamics and Nucor are up at least 5%.

Trump said US Steel workers would receive a $5,000 bonus soon and that $2.2 billion of the $14 billion proposed investment would be earmarked to increase steel production at the Mon Valley Works plant where he was speaking. Trump said $7 billion would be spent to modernize steel mills, expand ore mining and build new facilities in Indiana, Minnesota, Alabama and Arkansas.

He also said US Steel wouldn’t announce layoffs or outsourcing and that its blast furnaces will remain at “full capacity” for at least 10 years.

The US imports about 17% of its steel needs, according to figures from Morgan Stanley, with the majority coming from Canada, Brazil and Mexico. Construction companies have warned levies are likely to increase the cost of critical building materials, reducing the supply and increasing the cost of new housing.

The event had the tone of a victory lap, with Trump receiving a Pittsburgh Steelers jersey and a golden hard hat during his visit, but despite the celebratory tone, critical details on the deal were unclear ahead of Friday’s event. Investors are eager for any insight into the agreement a week after he first announced that he would approve the deal.

Trump’s decision marked a stunning reversal on a transaction that he had fiercely opposed on the campaign trail, but the president cast the shift as coming with concessions from Nippon Steel that benefitted steelworkers.

“Every time they came in, the deal got better and better and better for the workers,” Trump said, stressing that US Steel would remain headquartered in Pittsburgh.

The president last week cast it as a “planned partnership” bringing investments to the US — not as an outright sale of an American company. Even after Trump’s announcement last week, work continued on the terms, including what veto powers the US government will retain over the board of the US Steel subsidiary.

“In Washington, I’m going to be watching over it, and it’s going to be great,” Trump said.

The Friday event offers to cap what has been a politically contentious and tumultuous path for Nippon Steel’s bid to purchase an iconic American firm — a lengthy saga that left both companies in limbo. Nippon Steel initially proposed a $14.1 billion transaction for US Steel.

“The commitments have been made,” Representative Dan Meuser, a Pennsylvania Republican, said in an interview at the Irvin Works site ahead of Trump’s remarks. “They’re not going to blow this deal,” he added, calling it “as good as done.”

The deal put forward to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, or Cfius, a secretive panel which reviewed the proposed takeover, included the original $55-per-share acquisition along with extra investment, according to people familiar with the matter.

As part of the agreement, the US will retain certain powers, including over board membership, according to people familiar. US Senator David McCormick, a Pennsylvania Republican, has cast that arrangement as a “golden share,” thought it is not clear if it would amount to an equity stake or just give the government some form of power to intervene.

McCormick told CNBC in an interview that the structure will be “a US CEO, a US majority board, and then there’ll be a golden share, which will essentially require US government approval of a number of the board members, and that’ll allow the United States to ensure production levels aren’t cut and things like that.”

Both Trump and his predecessor, Joe Biden, opposed the sale during the 2024 presidential election, saying US Steel should remain in American hands. Biden killed the deal citing national security concerns just before Trump took office. Trump then ordered a review of that decision before announcing the partnership last week.

Advocates for a deal between Nippon Steel and US Steel have long argued that the Japanese company would help revitalize the American firm with investments.

The next steps to consummate the deal are not entirely clear. Both sides need to finalize their agreement through the Cfius review process. It’s not clear whether the text of any mitigation agreement — which is likely to spell out what powers the US government retains — is finalized.

. Read more on Economy & Finance by NDTV Profit.Trump announced the increased steel tariffs at the event and said he would also raise aluminum rates in a post to his Truth Social platform after the rally.  Read MoreEconomy & Finance, Global Economics, Business, Notifications, Bloomberg 

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