Ignoring strident domestic and foreign opposition, US President Trump imposed tariffs of 25% tariffs on imported steel and 10% on imported aluminum in order to protect US national security and American industry. According to statistics from the US International Trade Administration, the US is the world's largest steel importer, and imported 26.9 million tons of steel in 2017 to September, which represented an increase of 20% compared with the same period of 2016. The top ten countries supplying this imported steel are Canada, Brazil, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Turkey, Japan, Taiwan (4%), Germany, and India, which together account for 78% of US steel imports. The punitive tariffs seem likely to harm the trading relationships between the US and friendly nations. In order to gain bargaining chips in NAFTA negotiations, the US has provisionally made Canada and Mexico exempt from the tariffs.