President Donald Trump has directed the U.S. Treasury Department to cease the production of pennies, citing their high cost of production, which exceeds their face value. He called the practice “wasteful” and announced the decision on Sunday after attending the first half of the Super Bowl.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump explained, “For far too long, the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful! I’ve instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies. Let’s rip the waste out of our great nation’s budget, even if it’s a penny at a time.”
Earlier in January, the Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, revealed that producing pennies costs over 3 cents each, resulting in a $179 million expense to taxpayers in fiscal year 2023. The U.S. Mint produced over 4.5 billion pennies in that year, making up around 40% of the total coins produced.
In addition to his announcement about pennies, Trump also revealed plans for new tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, which are set to be announced on Monday. Speaking aboard Air Force One, Trump stated that the tariffs would impose a 25% charge on both steel and aluminium imports, emphasizing, “If you charge us, we charge them.”
Trump had previously discussed the possibility of a universal tariff of 10-20% and had asked his administration to review the plan as part of a broader trade review, which is due by April 1. He confirmed that the tariffs would apply to all nations, with the announcement likely to be made on Monday or Tuesday.
