President Trump presented his plan to increase US tariffs to match them with the rates charged by other countries on imports. The administration insisted that these would level the playing field between American manufacturers and foreign competitors.
The president of the United States, Donald Trump, signed on Thursday a memorandum with which he orders to impose reciprocal tariffs on products imported from other countries. The plan, he said, is to match the charges of taxes that other countries impose on articles exported by US companies.
“I have decided, for the principle of equity, that I will collect a reciprocal tariff,” Trump said in the Oval office. “It's just for everyone. No other country can complain. ”
Trump's republican administration has insisted that its new tariffs would level the playing field between US manufacturers and foreign competitors.
“By making trade more reciprocal and balanced, we can reduce the commercial deficit; Grow the economy of the United States and improve our commercial relations with business partners for the benefit of workers, manufacturers, farmers, ranchers, businessmen and US companies, ”reads the memorandum.
Tariff increases would be customized for each country with the partial objective of starting new commercial negotiations.
Some of the examples of tariffs exposed by the White House include the collection of an 18 % tariff by Brazil to US exports of ethanol. The American tariff, they said, is 2.5 %
Trump's proclamation identifies taxes on added value – which are similar to sales taxes and are common in the European Union – as a commercial barrier that must be included in any calculation of reciprocal tariffs.
The Trump administration has rejected criticism of its tariffs, although it has recognized the probability that they will increase prices for US consumers.
The trade of goods between Europe and the United States almost reached 1.3 billion dollars last year, with the United States exporting 267,000 million dollars less than matters, according to the Census office.
Trump has imposed an additional tariff of 10 % to Chinese imports due to the role of that country in the production of fentanyl opioid. He has also prepared tariffs for Canada and Mexico, the two largest commercial partners in the United States, who could go into force in March after being suspended for 30 days.
The European Union, Canada and Mexico have said that they have reprisal measures ready to counteract Trump's actions, while China has already taken retaliation measures with their own tariffs on US energy, agricultural machinery and cars.
(With information from Reuters and The Associated Press)