Confusion surrounds US President Donald Trump’s latest ‘global’ trade tariffs, as a White House official provides clarity on what will happen to countries that already have a trade agreement with the United States.
Confusion surrounds US President Donald Trump’s latest
‘global’ trade tariffs, as a White House official provides clarity on what will happen to countries that already have a trade agreement with the United States. The officials who asked to remain anonymous told CNBC that Trump’s sweeping new 10 per cent global tariffs will reset rates for all major trading partners.
The new tariffs came shortly after the US Supreme Court on Friday ruled that the American leader’s decision to impose reciprocal tariffs on all countries last year was “
unlawful”. The clarification from the White House official to CNBC indicates that the latest move by Trump would lower duties previously set at 15 per cent for Switzerland and Liechtenstein, South Korea, the European Union and Japan, 20 per cent for Vietnam, while leaving the United Kingdom unchanged at 10 per cent.
While India and the US are yet to sign the fine print of the trade agreement, the former can also see the reset effectively reducing US tariffs on its exports to 10 per cent from 18 per cent. However, the statement from the White House official came in contrast with what Trump said soon after the Supreme Court ruling.
Trump says ’nothing changes’
While speaking at a press conference immediately after the Supreme Court ruling, Trump confirmed that nothing has changed in the trade deal between India and the United States. Trump insisted that he would take alternative routes to impose tariffs.
When a journalist asked about what happens to the India-US trade deal after the Supreme Court’s ruling, Trump made it clear that nothing changes. “Nothing changes. They’ll be paying tariffs, and we will not be paying tariffs,” he said.
“This is a reversal for what it used to be, as you know,” he said, praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling him a “great gentleman”. However, he went on to accuse the Indian Prime Minister of “ripping off”. “So we made a deal with India, and it’s a fair deal now, and we are not paying tariffs to them, and they are paying tariffs. We didn’t flip,” Trump said.
It is pertient to note that the two nations agreed on a deal that reduces the general tariff rate for Indian goods entering the US from 50 per cent (including a 25 per cent ‘penalty’ rate for India’s energy trade with Russia) to 18 per cent.
Trump’s remarks on the matter came before he signed the latest 10 per cent “global tariff” order. Hence, it remains uncertain whether something changed after the order was signed. Overall, confusion remains on where the countries stand on the tariff saga.
End of Article
