Donald Trump has ordered his trade advisers to come up with “reciprocal” tariffs on US trade partners to retaliate against taxes, tariffs, regulations and subsidies in a move that could unleash a global trade war.
A senior White House official said tariffs would be imposed on a “country-by-country” basis following an examination, and begin with nations with which the US has the highest trade deficit.
The tariffs would be issued in “Trump time”, the official said, “which is to say very rapidly”. “This should be a matter of weeks, or in a few months,” he added.
The memo Trump signed described the US’s trade deficit as a threat to the country’s national security, laying the ground for Trump to issue tariffs without needing to go to Congress.
White House officials said the administration would use different legal powers to implement the levies, including Section 301 of the Trade Act and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
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