Anamika Dey, editor
In brief
- President Trump indicated that his proposal for reciprocal tariffs will include “flexibility,” despite his reluctance to grant exceptions to incoming penalties.
- He emphasized that granting exceptions could lead to demands from all countries, maintaining that his stance on tariffs remains unchanged, even after providing a temporary exemption to major automakers.
- Trump plans to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping amid escalating trade tensions, as retaliatory tariffs from China have already impacted U.S. agricultural products.
Detailed news
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, stated on Friday that his proposal for reciprocal tariffs will have “flexibility,” despite the fact that he appeared to be opposed to the idea of creating exceptions on the incoming penalties.
“People are coming to me and talking about tariffs, and a lot of people are asking me if they could have exceptions,” Trump said to reporters in the Oval Office. “I am thinking about doing something about it.”
“And once you do that for one, you have to do that for all,” he added. “And once you do that…
He also reiterated that he did not change his mind when he gave major automakers a one-month exemption on a previous round of import charges in the beginning of March. Trump is a self-proclaimed supporter of tariffs.
I do not alter myself. On the other hand, the word “flexibility” is a significant word,” he stated. Every once in a while, it’s flexibility. So there will be some degree of adaptability, but in essence, it will be mutual.”
Trump has referred to the initiation of his reciprocal tariffs on April 2 as the “liberation day” of the United States of America.
The idea, according to Trump and his officials, will effectively allocate tariff rates to all countries that have their own duties set on goods imported from the United States. It is possible that more charges will be imposed on nations that have other non-tariff trade policies, such as value-added taxes, which are opposed by the administration of President America Trump.
On Friday, Trump also announced that he intends to meet with Xi Jinping, the President of China of China. In reaction to the extensive tariffs that President Trump imposed on Chinese imports, Beijing has already imposed retaliatory taxes on agricultural products from the United States.
Since retaking the White House, President Trump has delivered a flurry of pronouncements regarding tariffs, which has fueled investor anxiety and fears of a huge trade war from the beginning.
Source : CNBC news
