Trump Justifies Tariff Hike, Claims It Will Help Repay US Debt
Donald Trump defended his decision to raise tariffs on 69 countries, calling it crucial for boosting America’s economy and repaying national debt, while sparking intense debate in global trade circles.
International News: US President Donald Trump on Monday strongly defended the tariffs imposed on trading partners. He said they should have been implemented years ago. He said the US is earning hundreds of billions of dollars, and the country will gradually be able to pay off its debt. Trump said that we are working towards eliminating our debt. Now America is getting more money than ever before. If this work had started many years ago, we would have already made a lot of progress. I had imposed tariffs on China during my first term, but further plans were stopped due to Covid.
Emphasis on fair trade
Trump believes that imposing reciprocal tariffs is the only way to bring balance to global trade. He said that I don't want to create pressure, but I want fairness. As long as we don't get equal opportunities and benefits, we will continue to use our economic power. He added that these tariffs may be high for many countries, but the US is getting a huge increase in revenue from them.
Major change in US trade policy
Within six months of returning to the White House, Trump challenged the traditional global trade model. He used America's economic power to pressure countries that would not agree to unilateral trade terms.
On April 2, he made a historic announcement that countries with trade deficits would be subject to a “reciprocal” tax of up to 50%, and all other countries would be subject to a “basic” duty of 10%. He justified this by declaring a “national emergency” under a 1977 law.
However, after criticism, he suspended these tariffs for 90 days so that the affected countries could renegotiate with the US. As a result, many countries accepted the US demands, while others suffered economic losses.
New Executive Order Shakes Global Business
On August 1, Trump ordered new tariffs on dozens of countries, just hours before the trade deal deadline. The new order imposed tariffs ranging from 10% to 50% on 69 countries.
Some of the major tariffs were as follows
1. Syria: 41%
2. Canada: 35%
3. Brazil: 50%
4. India: 25%
5. Switzerland: 39%
6. Taiwan: 20%
However, giving relief to Pakistan, the duty was reduced from 29% to 19%.
