In a move that restores the economic protection policies that the United States pursued during its previous era, US President Donald Trump announced his intention to implement a widespread escalation in his trade policy, through what he described as the commercial “liberation day” on April 2.
According to the Financial Times published, Trump intends to impose comprehensive customs duties on the United States’ trading partners, which may open the door to a new wave of commercial wars and put the global trade system to unprecedented challenges.
“Liberation Day” .. details of Trump’s commercial plan
Trump’s plan includes several stages, starting with the arrival of trade investigations that have been prepared since its inauguration, and aims to assess US trade relations with a large number of countries.
These investigations, which are scheduled to be submitted on April 1, paved the way for the official announcement the next day for “mutual” fees aimed at equaling what the administration deems unfair taxes, excessive industrial support, or organizational barriers imposed by other countries on American products.
In this context, the Financial Times quoted President Trump as saying – in a post on the Truth Social platform.
Cars, chips and medicine
On March 26, Trump anticipated the official announcement and the imposition of customs duties by 25% on car imports, as well as the possibility of imposing additional fees on imports of electronic chips and medicines, although the announcement may be postponed for a later date.
Also, it is expected that customs duties by 25% on all US imports from Canada and Mexico are expected to be re -exempted after the President was given a temporary exemption to the goods that conform to the terms of the trade agreement signed between the three countries in 2020.
Definition and application of “mutual fees”
According to the Financial Times, the Trump administration is seeking to apply these fees selectively “according to the state”, based on the differences in customs duties and organizational policies between Washington and its partners.
An example of US officials has repeatedly mentioned the value -added tax in the European Union, which they consider a discrimination against American products, as well as digital taxes imposed on American technology companies.
In the event of the implementation of the fees immediately, the administration may resort to emergency laws such as the “International Economic Economic Powers Law” or Article 338 of the Customs Law of 1930, which allows the imposition of fees of up to 50%.
Current fees and international reactions
The Trump administration has already imposed 20% fees on all imports from China, and 25% on steel and aluminum imports, in addition to a wide list of products manufactured with these minerals.
It also imposed 25% fees on all imports from Mexico and Canada in an attempt to reduce illegal immigration and fentian flow.
On March 24, Trump issued an executive order to impose “secondary fees” on countries that buy oil from Venezuela, starting from April 2, to continue for a year unless it was canceled by a decision of senior US officials.
The reactions are not delayed. The European Union announced that it will respond with fees on US products worth 28 billion dollars, while China imposed fees on US agricultural exports worth $ 22 billion, such as soybeans, pork, and corn.
Canada imposed $ 21 billion in US products in March, followed by a second package of the same value. As for Britain, it preferred negotiation instead of escalation.
Countries at risk and anxiety from inflation
According to the Financial Times, it includes the list of countries targeted by fees: Japan, India, the European Union, Brazil and the G20 countries, as well as countries that have the largest commercial deficit with the United States, such as Turkey, Vietnam, and Malaysia.
The Federal Reserve officials (the US Central Bank) fears that these measures will lead to a wide inflationary wave, especially since the American economy has not fully recovered from the large inflation wave that struck it recently. Economist Stephen Moore of the Herstage Foundation commented that the response is “a big mistake and increases Trump’s intransigence.”
The Financial Times concludes that the “liberation day”, as the Trump administration describes it, may become a global turmoil in trade relations, with escalating tensions and mutual reactions.
While Trump sees this step a restoration of commercial justice, Washington’s trade partners are preparing to face a new wave of multi -front trade war.
