U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday took what could become his most consequential action involving international trade early in his second administration.
Trump, who signed a memorandum calling for reciprocal tariffs, told a group of reporters in the Oval Office that "if you build your product in the United States, there are no tariffs."
The goal is to bring down America's budget deficit, estimated to be approaching $2 trillion.
The president added that the action "is fair to all. No other country can complain."
Trump ordered Howard Lutnick and Jamieson Greer, his picks for commerce secretary and U.S. trade representative, respectively, to lead teams to calculate new import taxes on America's trading partners. To assess the amounts, they are to take into consideration other countries' tariff rates, subsidies to industry, value-added taxes — which are common in the European Union — regulations and undervaluing of currencies.
The EU value-added tax is the "poster child" for unfair trade, Peter Navarro, the president's senior counselor for trade, told reporters on Thursday.
Modi visit
Trump put his signature on the edict just hours before welcoming Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the White House.
India is expected to be one of the countries most affected by the action. India has relatively high tariff and non-tariff barriers on numerous American exports. It has faced pressure from Washington to reduce its 100% tariff on walnuts, the 70% levy on apples and the 60% import tax on dairy products.
Other sectors include smartphones, pork and poultry, and medical devices. India reduced a 100% tariff on Harley-Davidson motorcycles — an iconic brand deeply embedded in the economy of the Midwestern state of Wisconsin — to 50% in 2018.
The two countries announced on Thursday an energy agreement to make the United States the primary supplier of oil and gas to India.
Trump, alongside Modi, at a Thursday evening news conference said he would pave the way for the United States to sell F-35 Stealth fighter jets to India and the two leaders would work to make tariff cuts in order to reduce America's nearly $50 billion trade deficit with India.
"Prime Minister Modi and I agreed we would begin negotiations to address the long-standing disparities," Trump said.
Modi said he and Trump have set a "target of more than doubling our bilateral trade to attain $500 billion by 2030. Our teams will work on concluding very soon a mutually beneficial trade agreement."
In response to a reporter's question about the reciprocal tariffs, Trump confirmed India would also be targeted.
"Whatever India charges, we're charging them," he said.
Source : VOA
President Donald Trump said Wednesday he plans to send a single letter to over 150 countries outlining the tariff rate they will face, saying, "It's all going to be the same for everyone, for that gro...
The U.S. central bank will probably need to leave interest rates where they are for a while longer to ensure inflation stays low in the face of upward pressure from the Trump administration's tariffs,...
US President Donald Trump plans to impose tariffs of over 10% on smaller countries, including nations in Africa and the Caribbean, as the Associated Press reported. "We'll probably set one tariff for...
President Donald Trump warned on Monday that he would impose secondary tariffs of 100% on Russia if a peace deal with Ukraine isn't reached within 50 days. "We are going to be doing very severe tariff...
The European Union announced on Sunday that it will extend its suspension of countermeasures to U.S. tariffs until early August, aiming to pursue a negotiated settlement. This comes after President T...
Gold price advances during the North American session on Friday as the US Dollar weakens, with traders booking profits ahead of the weekend. Additionally, a Fed Governor's comments turned more dovish than expected, supporting a rate cut in July. At...
The S&P 500 briefly touched an all-time high before hovering flat in the afternoon session, while the Nasdaq dipped 0.2% as investors weighed strong economic data against latest batch of corporate earnings. The Dow Jones, on the other hand was...
Gold (XAU/USD) is trading higher on Friday as investors remain focused on Fed expectations US economic data. At the time of writing, XAU/USD recovers above $3,350, pushing the price closer toward the upper boundary of a symmetrical triangle...
The U.S. central bank will probably need to leave interest rates where they are for a while longer to ensure inflation stays low in the face of...
The Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand in the US rose 2.3% annually in June, according to data published by the US Bureau of Labor...
Unemployment claims fell 7,000 to 221,000 in the week ending July 12, compared with the median estimate of 233,000, according to Labor Department...
President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the U.S. would impose a 19% tariff on goods from Indonesia under a new agreement with the Southeast Asian...