How Might The New Steel Tariffs Affect Your Commercial Construction Project?

In order to combat what is seen as unfair trade or a trade imbalance, the United States will soon enforce a new tariff on imported steel and aluminum, with some exceptions. While these tariffs might seem like they have nothing to do with your business, they may if you’re considering a commercial construction project in the future.

Let’s take a look at what these tariffs are, and how they might affect your plans in the Denver, CO area. For a more detailed conversation about your project, get in touch with the i2 Construction team today.

Steel Construction By: saweang

The Stated Purpose Of The New Steel Tariffs

The new tariffs to go into effect on March 23. Tariffs of 25% will be placed on imported steel and 10% on imported aluminum.

There will be exemptions for Canada and Mexico while the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) discussions take place. Canada alone is the largest importer of steel into the U.S., sending us about 16% of our total intake. Mexico is the fourth largest importer at about 9%.

How These Tariffs May Affect Your Commercial Construction Project

Steel and aluminum are used across commercial construction projects in differing amounts. It really depends on what your project is!

The majority of our clients in the Denver area are building corporate headquarters, retail storefronts and other buildings, so the steel we use goes into rebar and studs to reinforce walls. Aluminum in our case typically goes into the window frames, siding and other architectural features.

This may mean bids for projects like ours will increase in the future, though we’ll do what we’re able to mitigate the effect of the tariffs on your commercial construction project. If the cost is of high concern, getting your commercial construction contractor involved at the design process can go a long way to better estimates on cost for variables like steel and aluminum. We will work hard to ensure any project pricing we give you has the latest information on steel and aluminum.