President Donald Trump has unveiled plans for new import taxes on all goods entering the US, in the biggest upheaval of the international trade order since the aftermath of World War Two.
His plan sets a baseline tariff on all imports of at least 10%, consistent with a proposal he made on the campaign last year.
Items from about 60 trade partners that the White House described as the “worst offenders”, including the European Union and China, face higher rates – payback for what Trump said unfair trade policies.
U.S. senators vote to block Trump’s Canadian tariffs in stinging, but likely symbolic, rebuke
A bipartisan coalition of U.S. senators voted in favour of ending the state of emergency that allows the Trump administration to unilaterally impose tariffs on Canadian goods, arguing that the White House overreached by targeting its northern neighbour.
The vote is the most significant Republican rebuke of the Trump administration’s second term, with four Republicans – Kentucky senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, as well as Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska, and Susan Collins, of Maine – breaking rank. The vote passed 51 to 48. The win is largely symbolic because it’s unlikely to have any practical effect in Congress. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives has pledged not to intervene in Mr. Trump’s tariff agenda, and the president has veto power that can only be overridden by a two-thirds majority vote in each chamber. The fate of the resolution was unclear until votes were tallied late Wednesday evening.
‘Reciprocal’ Tariffs: See Which Countries Have the Highest Rates
President Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs on Wednesday afternoon, announcing a minimum 10 percent tariff on all trading partners as well as so-called reciprocal actions on dozens of other countries, including some of America’s biggest trading partners.
In announcing the new tariffs, his most expansive to date, Mr. Trump said that the global tariffs would help correct decades of unfair relationships and stop other countries from ripping off the United States.
China, for example, will see its tariff rate rise to 34 percent, which includes a previous blanket import tax imposed on the country’s goods earlier this year. Vietnam’s imports will be taxed at nearly 50 percent.
Canada exempt from Trump’s sweeping reciprocal tariffs, PM Carney promises countermeasures to auto, sectoral levies
Donald Trump’s politics have shifted considerably over his decades in the public sphere. But one thing he has been consistent on, since the 1980s, is his belief that tariffs are an effective means of boosting the US economy.
