Washington.- President Donald Trump announced on Monday that cars will soon be imposed, although he indicated that not all the levies he had threatened would be imposed on April 2, while some countries could obtain exemptions.
This measure was interpreted by Wall Street as a sample of flexibility in an issue that has stirred the markets for weeks.
At the same time, Trump opened another front in the global commercial war by imposing 25% secondary tariffs on any country that bought oil or gas from Venezuela, a decision that triggered crude oil prices.
In the White House, Trump informed the press that not all the new tariffs would be announced on April 2 and that he could grant tariff exemptions to “many countries”, but did not provide details.
Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal previously reported that the government was adjusting its focus on the large levy package that Trump has been saying for weeks that would be imposed on April 2.
Lee: Wall Street closes with strong increases after announcing Trump exceptions in reciprocal tariffs
American actions closed on Monday with a generalized rise due to the optimism that the tariffs that will be detailed next week may not be as extensive as expected. The S&P 500 index rose almost 1.8%, closing at its highest level in more than two weeks.
Meanwhile, Trump said that the United States would impose tariffs on cars, pharmaceutical products and aluminum in the very close future, arguing that they would need all those products in case of wars or other problems.
Automobile tariffs would go into force in the next few days, Trump announced later, adding that wood tariffs and semiconductor chips would be applied later.
“We have been scammed by all countries,” Trump said after a meeting of his cabinet, and predicted that the sectoral and reciprocal tariffs planned for April 2 would generate astronomical amounts of money for the US coffers, which would allow the tax rates to remain low or decrease.
Trump, who has affirmed that countries can still avoid taxes if they reduce their tariffs or transfer production to the United States, also announced an investment of 21,000 million dollars from the South Korean group Hyundai Motor Group in the United States.
The investment would include a new steel plant of 5.8 billion dollars in Louisiana, according to the president in the White House with the president of Hyundai, Euisun Chung, and the governor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry.
Liberation Day
Trump said the announcement of April 2 will be a “day of liberation” for the US economy. Tariffs seek to reduce the world commercial deficit of assets of 1.2 billion dollars, raising US levies to the levels of other countries and counteracting their non -tariff commercial barriers.
Lee: Trump contemplates exceptions in the imposition of reciprocal tariffs in April
Trump declared in February his intention to impose automotive tariffs “of about 25%” and tariffs similar to imports of semiconductors and pharmaceutical products, but subsequently agreed to delay some automotive levies after the three largest US car manufacturers pressured to obtain an exemption.
The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg previously reported that a delay in the application of specific tariffs in the sector is expected, but two government officials informed Reuters that the situation is still evolving and that sectoral tariffs could still be imposed.
Trump’s dizzying tariff offensive since his investiture in January has been characterized by threats, setbacks and delays, sometimes a few hours after the deadline for imposition, while his commercial team formulates policies on the march.
Until now, it has imposed new tariffs of 20% to Chinese imports, completely restored the 25% levies to world imports of steel and aluminum, and has applied 25% tariffs to the imports of Canada and Mexico that do not comply with the commercial agreement of North America, due to the fentanyl overdose crisis in the United States.
“15 dirty”
Two senior Trump officials, Treasury secretary, Scott Besent; And the main economic advisor of the White House, Kevin Hassett, announced last week that the administration is expected to focus the long -awaited announcement of reciprocal tariffs on April 2 in a smaller group of countries with the highest commercial surpluses and high tariff and non -tariff barriers.
Besent referred to these as the “15 dirty”, in reference to 15% of the countries, while Hasset told Fox Business that the approach would focus on between 10 and 15 countries.
Lee: EU plans to exclude tariffs from specific sectors on April 2: Media
In a request for public comments on reciprocal tariffs, the Office of the Commercial Representative (USTR) expressed its special interest in the presentations of the main commercial partners of the United States and those with the largest commercial surpluses of goods.
The USTR mentioned Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom and Vietnam as countries of special interest, adding that they represent 88% of the total trade of goods with the United States.
Trump also announced that any country that buys oil or gas from Venezuela will pay a 25% tariff on any trade made with the United States.
This “secondary tariff” will enter into force on April 2, said the president in a social truth publication.
Trump imposes the measure because, according to him, Venezuela has sent “tens of thousands” to the United States with a “very violent nature.”
With Reuters information
Do you like to inform yourself for Google News? Follow our showcase to have the best stories
