President Donald Trump uses tariffs essentially paid by foreign companies to access the US market as a key tool to achieve America’s first agenda. And it has had consequences for him so far.
“I have decided to request mutual customs meetings in any country that claims the United States for the purposes of fairness,” he said. “We won’t charge them any more.”
He added that other countries usually charge more tariffs than the US, “those days are over.”
The president has directed the agency to weigh factors such as tariffs, value-added taxes, local subsidies, and local subsidies and regulations that make it difficult for American companies to overcome trade barriers.
At a press conference on February 13, a senior White House official said that American trading partners have a variety of ways “like fingerprints.” Officials say that while India’s tariffs are “some of the highest in the world,” Japan, which charges relatively low tariff fees, has instead high structural obstacles such as taxes and regulations. Ta.
Officials have confirmed that countries can negotiate US tariffs on goods by lowering trade barriers.
vehicle
White House officials have chosen the European Union for imbalances in automobile trade. In addition to charging all the customs duties on those that the US charges the EU, the latter imposes additional VAT on US exports ranging from 17-27%, depending on the specific destination country.
The US pays higher taxes to enter foreign markets and makes more purchases from them. China, the UK and India pay 2.5% tariffs and sell cars to the US. In contrast, they charge 15%, 10%, and 125% for similar products in the US.
Currently, Chinese branded cars are not available in the US market. Volvo, owned by Chinese company Geely, has a very small market share. However, Chinese auto parts companies are increasing their presence in Mexico, a country that enjoys zero tariffs under the current free trade agreement with the US.
steel
On February 10, Trump announced a 25% tariff on all steel imports, ending previous exemptions from countries, including Canada and Mexico. He also raised his aluminum obligations to 10-25% more than twice as much. Customs duties will come into effect on March 12th.
The 25% tariff on steel is intended to protect US domestic industries from China.
China does not directly export many steel to the US, but the secondary effects of cheap Chinese steel that floods global markets will harm domestic producers in the US.
Trump initially imposed a 25% tariff on steel during his first term in 2018, but the exemption granted since then effectively canceled the effectiveness of the measure. These tariffs were imposed on national security concerns under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.
Recent measures have ended all exemptions, and Trump said the administration will “crash tariff misclassification and obligation evasion plans.”
According to WTO trade data, de facto tariffs on US steel imports under section 232 were almost zero for shipments from major origins such as the European Union, China, Japan and India.
With the new changes, free trade agreements between the US, Canada and Mexico no longer apply to steel imports. Tax exemption allocations that are separately negotiated with the European Union, the UK and Japan will also be effective.
The announced 25% tariff does not apply to all steel products. Only certain products defined in 2018 under section 232.
