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Howard Lutnick, the president’s nominee for commerce secretary, and Jamieson Greer, his pick for trade representative, will come up with the numbers “quickly,” in concert with other advisers, a White House official, who did not have permission to speak for attribution, said in a call with reporters on Thursday.
The decision to rework the tariffs that America charges on imported goods would represent a dramatic overhaul of the global trading system. For decades, the United States has set its tariff levels through negotiations at international trade bodies like the World Trade Organization. Setting new levies — likely to be higher than what the United States charges today — would effectively scrap that system in favor of one determined solely by U.S. officials and based on their own criteria.
Timothy Brightbill, a lawyer at Wiley Rein, said a move toward a reciprocity-based tariff system would be “a fundamental change to U.S. trade policy, and among the biggest in more than 75 years — since the creation of the current multilateral trading system” in 1947.
The action seems likely to kick off intense negotiations with governments whose economies depend on exports to the United States. It could also elicit trade wars on multiple fronts if other countries choose to increase their own tariffs in retaliation. …”
1-2-3-4 I declare a trade war!
“… Mr. Trump’s proposal marks a significant reversal in a decades-long push in trade policy toward lowering international barriers. While past presidents have often negotiated with foreign countries over tariffs, those agreements have typically led to lower levies, not higher ones. No president has taken Mr. Trump’s approach of raising U.S. tariffs to match other countries’ rates.
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In addition to the reciprocal tariffs, Mr. Trump said his advisers would meet over the next four weeks to discuss measures on cars, pharmaceuticals, chips and other goods.
“They’ve been taking advantage of us for years and years and years,” he said of other countries. “They’ve charged us and we haven’t charged them. And it’s time to be reciprocal.”
In the past weeks, Mr. Trump’s almost-daily tariff threats have rocked diplomatic and economic relationships. The United States imposed an additional 10 percent tariff on all products from China last week, and came within hours of putting sweeping tariffs on Canada and Mexico that would have brought U.S. tariff rates to a level not seen since the 1940s.
The president had criticized Canada and Mexico for sending drugs and migrants to the United States, but agreed to put off the tariffs for 30 days after the countries offered him some concessions. …”
“This time, it’s reciprocal!”
