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President Donald Trump on Thursday has instructed his government to prepare to levy significant import taxes on any country that imposes its own taxes on American imports, stopping short of immediately imposing the massive tax hikes on American importers but starting a process that experts say could portend a global trade war of the sort not seen in the modern era.
Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said the plan would treat all countries the same based on their own individual trade laws.
“I’ve decided for purposes of fairness that I will charge a reciprocal tariff … it’s fair to all. No other country can complain,” he said. “If you build your product in the United States, there are no tariffs … this should have been done years ago.”
He added: “We’re going to make America rich again.”
The president has frequently groused about trade deficits that America has with other countries — even close allies such as Canada and Mexico — and he often claims that trade deficits are evidence that the U.S. is being taken advantage of or “ripped off.”
He and his allies have suggested that higher tariffs in foreign imports would create a level playing field between the U.S. manufacturing and foreign competition, but in reality the tariffs would be a tax increase on Americans paid in the form of higher prices.
He told reporters the tariffs would not be implemented immediately and said the memorandum he signed has tasked his administration with studying trade imbalances and reporting on which countries’ imports should be subject to which tax rates. Because tariffs are taxes added to prices paid by consumers, the effect of any tariffs his administration imposes could be to supercharge rates of inflation that he has promised to bring down.
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