The president of the US, Donald Trump, presented on Thursday a plan to impose reciprocal tariff will strengthen the economic and national security of the country.
“Today is the big day: reciprocal rates,” Trump wrote on his social media platform before his announcement.
The European Union (EU) is among the main victims.
“I have decided that, for reasons of justice, I will impose reciprocal tariff Oval, where he advanced that he intends to sign a memorandum with that order in the next few minutes.
The rates would not take effect on Thursday, but they could begin to be applied in a few weeks, while Trump’s trade and economy team studies bilateral commercial and tariff relations, according to a White House official during a telephone conference with journalists .
The administration would first examine what he described as the most “atrocious” problems, including countries with the largest commercial surpluses and the highest tariff rates.
Trump’s reciprocal rates would match the highest tariff rates imposed by other countries, explained the White House official. In addition, they would seek to counteract non -tariff commercial barriers, such as onerous regulations, taxes on added value, government subsidies and exchange rate policies that can create obstacles to the flow of American products towards foreign markets.
The effort also aims to start negotiations with some countries to reduce these barriers.
The announcement seemed designed, at least in part, to trigger conversations with other countries. The official said Trump would be more than happy to reduce rates if other nations reduce his.
“So the president would be more than happy to reduce rates if countries want to reduce them. But we must also recognize that rates, the highest rates, are not most of the problem in many, if not in most cases, ”said the official.
The objectives include China, Japan, South Korea and the European Union. The rates would avoid a “unique size” approach to apply more personalized taxes, he said, although he did not rule out a fixed global rate.
The official explained that the lack of reciprocal rates by the US has contributed to a large and persistent commercial deficit of that country.
The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, who planned to reach 4 PM (2100 GMT), supervises a government that imposes the highest rates on US exports of any important commercial partner.
The last round of rates of the Republican President has increased the fears of an extension of the global commercial war and threatened to accelerate inflation in the US.
Trump’s commercial advisors were finalizing the plans on Wednesday for reciprocal rates that the US president has promised to impose on all countries that charge tariffs on US imports.
Trump, who assumed the position on January 20, has already announced rates on all imports of steel and aluminum as of March 12, imposed 10% rates on China’s products and established a 30 -day period for rates about the products of neighbors Canada and Mexico.
Trump said Monday that he is also considering separate rates on cars, semiconductors and pharmaceutical products.
Commerce experts claim that structuring the reciprocal rates that Trump wishes represents great challenges for his team, which could explain why the last levies were not announced before in the week.
Damon Pike, a commerce and principal specialist of the US division of the BDO International accounting firm, said the reciprocal rates that Trump imagined would result in a monumental task, given that each of the 186 members of the World Customs Organization has different rates Tariff
“Internationally, there is something like 5,000 different descriptions at 6 -digit subheading level (product), so 5,000 times 186 nations. It is almost an artificial intelligence project, ”he said.
Experts claim that Trump could resort to several statutes, including article 122 of the 1974 Commerce Law, which would only allow a maximum fixed rate of 15% for six months, or article 338 of the 1930 tariff law, which, which It grants authority to act against commercial discrimination that harms the US trade, but has never been used.
Trump could also use the same international emergency economic powers that was used to justify the rates imposed on China and the slopes for Canada and Mexico.
The White House official said that measure and others could be used.
“Without IEEPA, some type of agency action would be necessary first before commercial remedy rates can be imposed … but everything seems to be on the fast track,” said Pike, adding that normally the rates would be approved by Congress.
With Reuters information.
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