Trump takes steps to impose 'fair and reciprocal' tariffs on trade partners, including allies
President Donald Trump signed a memorandum Thursday calling for "fair and reciprocal" trade tariffs on all major U.S. trading partners, including longtime allies.
President Donald Trump signed a memorandum Thursday calling for "fair and reciprocal" trade tariffs on all major U.S. trading partners, including longtime allies.
The memo calls on Howard Lutnick, Trump's nominee for commerce secretary, and Jamieson Greer, his global trade representative, to assess within 180 days in a country-by-country report whether "remedies" are necessary to ensure reciprocal trade relations. Russell Vought, Trump's nominee to head the powerful Office of Management and Budget, will likewise submit a report within that time period on the fiscal impact of instituting the measures.
President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office at the White House on Wednesday.Andrew Harnik / Getty Images“I’ve decided, for purposes of fairness, that I will charge a reciprocal tariff, meaning whatever countries charge the United States of America,” Trump said Thursday. “In almost all cases, they’re charging us vastly more than we charge them, but those days are over.”Trump also said there would be additional import taxes on cars, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals “over and above” the reciprocal tariffs, though these would come later.
Markets responded favorably to the announcement as the order signaled a less firm timetable for the new measures than forecast. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up more than 350 points, while borrowing costs represented by the 10-year Treasury note fell. In a call with reporters before the memo's signing, Peter Navarro, White House senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, said that major exporting nations of the world had created a "pernicious, trillion-dollar" trade deficit with the U.S. He singled out the European Union's value-added tax as a trade tactic that he said hurts U.S. exports — though some pro-free-market commentators have disputed that.
Drugs, vaccines and medical products like MRI machines would likely be most affected by new trade duties with Europe based on their import volumes.
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