The duties that Washington intends to announce the day after tomorrow will concern “all countries”not only those with the greatest commercial imbalances with the United States: US President Donald Trump said so. But, according to the president of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde, This commercial war launched by Trump should lead to “one march towards independence “ of Europe. “He calls him ‘day of liberation’ in the United States but I see him as a time when we have to decide together to take control of our destiny better, and I think it is a march towards independence,” said the French leader, interviewed by Radio France Inter, referring to ‘an existential moment for Europe’.
I start with all countries
“We will start with all the countries and see what happens”the American president said to journalists aboard the Air Force One, rejecting the idea that customs rates will affect only a small number of Washington commercial partners. “I didn’t hear about 15, 10 or 15 countries”replied to the question of a journalist on the number of countries concerned, even if the secretary of Treasury Scott Beesent had raised the possibility of hitting 15% of the commercial partners who present recurring commercial imbalances to the detriment of the United States.
“Mutual” duties
After the steel and aluminum, and before cars, the US president intends to announce the so -called on Wednesday “mutual” dutieswhich will change the rules of world trade game. On April 2, which he nicknamed “Day of Liberation”Trump intends to erect new customs barriers that should depend on the taxes that the countries concerned impose on American products, but also on other factors.
The rules of the game change
“Basically, we are talking about all the countries we talked about”said the president, without providing further details. Trump also explained on Sunday that the customs rates will be “more generous” of those imposed by other countries against the United States. “The duties will be much more generous”(…) “They will be more myths than these countries have imposed on the United States of America over the decades”. These countries “They screwed us like no country has ever screwed us in history” And we will be much kinder with them than they have been with us, he added.