President Donald Trump has enacted reciprocal tariffs on all nations. He called it the “Fair and Reciprocal Plan” and claimed it “will seek to correct longstanding imbalances in international trade and ensure fairness across the board.”
President Donald J. Trump had previously implemented a 25% import tax, or tariff, on all steel and aluminum entering the United States. Trump said, “This is a big deal, the beginning of making America rich again. Our nation requires steel and aluminum to be made in America, not in foreign lands. Ultimately it will be cheaper. It’s time for our great industries to come back to America…this is the first of many.”
Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Announces “Fair and Reciprocal Plan” on Trade – White House Press Release
Excerpt:
THE “FAIR AND RECIPROCAL PLAN”: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum ordering the development of a comprehensive plan for restoring fairness in U.S. trade relationships and countering non-reciprocal trading arrangements.
- The “Fair and Reciprocal Plan” will seek to correct longstanding imbalances in international trade and ensure fairness across the board.
- Gone are the days of America being taken advantage of: this plan will put the American worker first, improve our competitiveness in every area of industry, reduce our trade deficit, and bolster our economic and national security.
AMERICA WILL NO LONGER TOLERATE UNFAIR TRADE PRACTICES: The United States is one of the most open economies in the world, yet our trading partners keep their markets closed to our exports. This lack of reciprocity is unfair and contributes to our large and persistent annual trade deficit.
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There are endless examples where our trading partners do not give the United States reciprocal treatment.
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The U.S. tariff on ethanol is a mere 2.5%. Yet Brazil charges the U.S. ethanol exports a tariff of 18%. As a result, in 2024, the U.S. imported over $200 million in ethanol from Brazil while the U.S. exported only $52 million in ethanol to Brazil.
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The U.S. average applied Most Favored Nation (MFN) tariff on agricultural goods is 5%. But India’s average applied MFN tariff is 39%. India also charges a 100% tariff on U.S. motorcycles, while we only charge a 2.4% tariff on Indian motorcycles.
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The European Union can export all the shellfish it wants to America. But the EU bans shellfish exports from 48 of our states, despite committing in 2020 to expedite approvals for shellfish exports. As a result, in 2023, the U.S. imported $274 million in shellfish from the EU but exported only $38 million.
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The EU also imposes a 10% tariff on imported cars. Yet the U.S. only imposes a 2.5% tariff.
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A 2019 report found that across 132 countries and more than 600,000 product lines, United States exporters face higher tariffs more than two-thirds of the time.
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Trump announces 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports– www.bbc.com
Source Link
Excerpt:
President Donald Trump has ordered a 25% import tax on all steel and aluminium entering the US in a major expansion of existing trade barriers.
The tariffs, which will increase the costs of importing the metals into the US, come despite warnings of retaliation from some political leaders in Canada – America’s biggest supplier of the metals – as well as other countries.
US businesses dependent on the imports have also raised concerns, but Trump has said his plans will boost domestic production.
He warned there would be no exceptions, saying he was “simplifying” the rules, which are set to come into effect on 4 March.
“This is a big deal, the beginning of making America rich again,” Trump said.
“Our nation requires steel and aluminium to be made in America, not in foreign lands,” he added.