US may impose tariffs of up to 245% on goods from China
The U.S. administration may impose tariffs of up to 245% on goods imported from China amid trade tensions between the two countries, the White House press service reported.
The U.S. administration said in a statement that in early April, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed 10% tariffs on all countries and individually increased tariffs on countries “with which the U.S. has the largest trade deficits.” Thus, the U.S. president wants to “level the playing field and ensure America’s national security.”
According to the White House, more than 75 countries around the world “have already entered into negotiations” with Washington to resolve the situation and “sign new trade deals.”
“In light of these discussions, individual tariffs have been suspended for all countries except China, which has retaliated. As a result of China’s retaliatory actions, it now faces tariffs as high as 245% on U.S. imports,” reads the statement.
The White House did not provide details on the timing or configuration of the tightening measures.
Citing European diplomats, the Financial Times (FT) writes that Washington intends to maintain key tariffs on EU goods even after trade talks with Brussels, in order to bring U.S. companies and businesses back to the United States.
One diplomat noted that the chaos in the Trump administration makes it difficult to understand what is “real policy and what is negotiation tactics.” According to him, the tools “change quite often.”
It is also difficult to understand who is actually making decisions and who is just talking without having the authority to do so. “Maintaining tension” has become a pattern in the actions of the Ւ․Ս․ administration, the source added.
On April 2, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the imposition of tariffs on goods from 185 countries and territories. The 10% general tariffs came into effect on April 5, and the individual ones on April 9. At the same time, on April 9, Trump announced that he was suspending additional import tariffs imposed on a reciprocal basis for a number of countries and territories for 90 days. The White House explained that the suspension was related to trade negotiations, during which a “10% general tariff” would apply. At the same time, the U.S. president raised tariffs on Chinese goods to 125%, and then to 145%.
