President Trump said on Tuesday that he intends to impose a 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports from the United States on February 1, a decision that is sure to increase trade tensions between the world’s largest economies.
Speaking at the White House, Mr. Trump said the tariffs are in line with China’s role in America’s fentanyl crisis. Mr. Trump said China is sending fentanyl to Canada and Mexico, where it will be sent to the United States.
The tax threat comes after Mr. Trump said Monday he planned to impose a 25 percent tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico as punishment for allowing fentanyl and illegal immigrants to cross into the United States.
“We are talking about a 10 percent price increase in China based on the fact that they are exporting fentanyl to Mexico and Canada,” said Mr.
Those costs will come on top of the taxes imposed by Mr. Trump on Chinese products more than $300 billion during his first term. Those tariffs were kept in place by former President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who imposed additional tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, solar cells, semiconductors and advanced batteries.
Mr Trump’s promise to slap tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico is expected to result in retaliation from US industries. Economists have warned that a global trade war could cause inflation and boost the US economy.
Mr. Trump signed an executive order on Monday ordering various agencies to study various trade issues with an eye toward future costs, but he did not immediately impose new tariffs, as he had previously threatened.
Instead he ordered US officials to examine the flow of migrants and drugs from Canada, China and Mexico to the United States, as well as the three countries’ compliance with their trade agreements with the United States.
Mr. Trump negotiated a new trade agreement with Canada and Mexico during his first term: the United States-Mexico-Canada-Agreement, or USMCA. He also agreed to a limited trade agreement with China that was supposed to reward American farmers.
He indicated that he wants to rewrite both agreements in his second term.
Mr. Trump and Xi Jinping, the president of China, spoke last week and discussed trade, fentanyl and areas where the world’s two largest economies can work together.
After the action of Mr. Trump to impose tariffs on China in his first term, signed a comprehensive economic agreement in 2020.
Relations between the countries have been strained amid the pandemic, which Mr Trump blames on China, and Beijing has failed to fulfill many of its commitments in the deal, including buying US farm products.
Scott Bessent, nominated by Mr. Trump to become secretary of the Department of Finance, when he delivered his speech last week, said that he plans to pressure his Chinese colleagues to start buying American farm products as their government had promised.
The nominee for the Ministry of Finance also said that he will pressure his Chinese colleagues to buy other products that will replace the ones that the country had to buy in the last four years.
Source link
