Trump to announce more tariffs next week to ensure ‘reciprocal, even trade with other countries’

President Donald Trump on Friday (February 8) said he plans on announcing reciprocal tariffs on several countries by Monday or Tuesday of next week.

Trump did not specify which nations would be hit with the trade tariffs. However, he alluded to the move being a broad effort that could also help solve US budget problems.

“I’ll be announcing that, next week, reciprocal trade, so that we’re treated evenly with other countries,” Trump said during a meeting with visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. “We don’t want any more, any less.”

The announcement marks yet another escalation of the Republican leader’s offensive to rejig global trade relationships to favour the US.

Trump announced a 25 per cent tariff on Canada and Mexico on Saturday (February 1) but postponed it after receiving a negative response from investors. The two largest trading partners of the US agreed to enhance enforcement efforts at the border, which is a top priority for Trump.

Trump and his administration have been consistent in complaining about the tariffs levied by trading partners on US’ products. The new president has ranted about the unfairness of the European Union’s 10 per cent tariffs on auto imports against the US’ car rate of 2.5 per cent, Investing.com reported.

Trump stated that imported automobiles may face additional tariffs now that Tesla CEO Elon Musk has joined the administration. “That’s always on the table, it’s a very big deal,” he said. “We have to equalise it.”

In confirmation hearings held recently, Howard Lutnick, Trump’s Commerce secretary nominee, spoke about India’s high tariff rates. Jamieson Greer, the US Trade Representative nominee, toed the same line in voicing US complaints about Vietnam’s and Brazil’s tariffs and trade barriers.

World Trade Organisation (WTO) data suggests that the US trade-weighted average tariff rate is about 2.2 per cent, compared to 12 per cent for India. For Brazil, the figure stands at 6.7 per cent, while for Vietnam it is 5.1 per cent. The European Union is closer to the US in terms of tariffs, with an average rate of 2.7 per cent.