US President Donald Trump wants to reorganize the world trade system-now his government has apparently committed itself to a strategy.
The US President plans to redesign the world trade system-since taking office he threatens trading partners with high tariffs on imports to the USA. Now his government is said to have committed a customs strategy, as US media report. On Wednesday evening at 10 p.m. German time, Trump wants to present the plans in the rose garden of the White House. With regard to the announcement, he speaks of a “day of liberation” for the USA. His spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in Washington on Tuesday that the new surcharges would “immediately” grab after Trump’s appearance.
Trump has been talking about so -called reciprocal tariffs, i.e. mutual tariffs that could turn the global trading system upside down and therefore provide uncertainty on the stock exchanges. The idea is to assign different customs sets to the trading partners. Allegedly duties are raised where they are currently asking less than their trading partners. Some countries could completely avoid the tariffs by agreements with the USA. “The word ‘mutual’ ‘is very important,” Trump told reporters on Monday. “We do what they do to us.”
According to a report by the “Washington Post”, however, there is also another customs strategy on the table for which Trump could have decided. The US government therefore prepares broad-based tariffs against numerous countries. They are likely to be increased in the order of around 20 percent, the report on Tuesday, which refers to insiders who are familiar with the preparations.
The new and flat -rate tariffs or uniform tariffs are therefore raised to most imports to the USA – instead of a more targeted approach from country to country, as would be the case with the “reciprocal tariffs”.
The government is expecting more than six trillion dollars through the uniform tariffs, together with additional tariffs on sectors such as automotive and drug imports, it said. These could then be used for tax refunds to citizens or similar measures. However, the insiders emphasized that no final decision had yet been made in the White House. Numerous options are on the table. The US Presidential Office said that every report before the official publication was pure speculation.
A 20 percent customs set on all imports would be the highest customs increase in the United States since the 1940s. Economic experts have warned of severe economic consequences in the past few weeks – above all, other countries should react with countermeasures. There is also great concern about the stock markets that a global trade war could lead to a recession. Critics of the Trump government’s customs in-depth argue that tariffs were ultimately paid by American consumers, since importers or final dealers would increase prices to compensate for the taxes imposed on them.
Trump: “It’s about protecting our country’s soul”
Trump, on the other hand, says that the tariffs are necessary to bring the global trading system back into balance. He partially blames it for the loss of jobs in the US processing. The United States had enough companies to end their dependence on global supply chains. “It’s about protecting our country’s soul,” Trump said in a speech before the congress in early March. “With tariffs we want to make America rich and big again.”
The United States has a trade deficit with other countries above $ 1.2 trillion. However, the United States is often very dominant for services, especially digital services. Trump has already put several special tariffs into force, such as steel and aluminum, as well as all deliveries from China. Higher tariffs on Auto imports of the USA will take place from Thursday. These are likely to hit the European Union predominantly.
The EU had recently threatened countermeasures and insisted on negotiations so that there was no further escalation. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in the European Parliament that there was a “strong plan” in the drawer.
“Our goal is a negotiating solution. But of course we will protect our interests, our people and our companies if necessary,” she said in Strasbourg. “We don’t necessarily want to practice retaliation.” However, if this is necessary, the plan will be implemented. Most recently, demands were made to target the internet giants from the USA. This could mean fees or even a digital tax. The Leyen said that the US tariffs would heat up inflation again, drive up the costs of companies and ultimately lead to job cancellations.
