 "US President Donald Trump. AP")
US President Donald Trump shared a list of nine ’non-tariff ways,’ he claims, countries are cheating the United States. The post came on Sunday, soon after Trump unleashed vitriol against the Biden administration while extending an Easter message. The American leader stirred a storm earlier this year when he announced “sweeping reciprocal tariffs” against several nations.
While Trump announced a 90-day pause on his sweeping tariffs on all countries, barring China, countries are rushing to Washington to navigate the brunt. Interestingly, Trump’s angry rant over the matter came days after the 78-year-old said that his officials are in talks with China on tariffs, and he is confident that a deal will be reached.
“Yeah, we’re talking to China. I would say they have reached out a number of times,” he told reporters at the Oval Office. While the US gave a 90-day relief to other nations, the same mercy was not given to China. The Trump administration imposed 145 per cent tariffs on Chinese goods; in return, Beijing announced retaliatory tariffs of 125 per cent on American goods. This will cause a 0.2% loss of global merchandise trade.
Trump shares ’non-tariff cheating list'
In the eight-point list, Trump said methods such as currency manipulation and dumping below cost are being used by nations to “allegedly cheat the US”.
Following is the list shared by Trump on his TruthSocial platform:
Currency Manipulation
VATs, which act as tariffs and export subsidies
Dumping Below Cost
Export Subsidies and Other Govt. Subsidies
Protective Agricultural Standards (e.g., no genetically engineered corn in the EU)
Protective Technical Standards (Japan’s bowling ball test)
Counterfeiting, Piracy, and IP Theft (Over $1 trillion a year)
Transshipping to EVADE Tariffs!!!
Apart from the European Union and Japan, Trump specifically did not name any other country or regional body. Interestingly, Trump raised concerns about Japan’s ‘bowling ball test’ back in 2018. He claimed that the Asian nation is using the test to cheat US auto companies out of selling cars to Japanese consumers.
“They take a bowling ball from 20 feet up in the air and drop it on the hood of the car. If the hood dents, the car doesn’t qualify. It’s horrible,” he had said.
While countries around the world are yet to react to Trump’s latest allegations, nations like India and the United Kingdom are eying for bilateral trade deals with Washington to prevent their manufacturing sectors getting tampered by the Trump tariffs.