U.S. President Donald Trump hiked nearly all of his tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to a punishing 50% on Wednesday in a move that's set to hammer businesses from automakers to home builders, and likely push up prices for consumers even further. Foreign-made steel and aluminum is used in household products like soup cans and paper clips, as well as big-ticket items like a stainless-steel refrigerators and cars. Economists warn that such heightened levies could significantly squeeze the wallets of both companies and shoppers alike. But Trump argues that his latest import taxes are necessary to protect U.S. industries. The 50% tariffs went into effect just after the clock struck midnight on Wednesday. The two metals had previously faced 25% tariffs worldwide since mid-March, when Trump’s order to remove steel exemptions and raise aluminum’s levy from his previously-imposed 2018 import taxes went into effect. Steel and aluminum from the U.K. is the exception. British imports of these metals are still levied at 25%, per a proclamation issued by Trump on Tuesday afternoon, which pointed to a recent trade deal reached between the two countries. Here's what else we know. Why is Trump raising these tariffs? Trump says it's all about protecting U.S. industries. He reiterated that argument on Friday, when he first announced the 50% tariff on imported steel during a visit with steelworkers in Pennsylvania, where he also discussed a “planned partnership” between U.S. Steel and Japan’s Nippon Steel. In his speech at U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works–Irvin Plant in suburban Pittsburgh, Trump said that the tariff hike would “further secure the steel industry in the U.S.” Shortly after, he took the same tone when sharing plans to also raise tariffs on imported aluminum. In Tuesday's proclamation, Trump also said that the higher tariffs would ensure that imported steel and aluminum would “not threaten to impair the national security." “In my judgment, the increased tariffs will more effectively counter foreign countries that continue to offload low-priced, excess steel and aluminum in the United States,” he said in the proclamation. How is the industry responding? While some analysts have credited the tariffs Trump imposed during his first term with strengthening domestic production of steel and aluminum, many others have warned that stark new levies can make it difficult for the industry to adjust.