Washington: U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated Monday that his administration will start imposing "reciprocal" tariffs early next month, as he has been pushing to announce new country-by-country tariff rates that will be pegged to trading partners' tariffs and non-tariff barriers.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Trump also reaffirmed that proposed tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods will take effect on Tuesday, underscoring there is "no room" for the two countries to make a last-minute deal to stop the implementation of tariffs that have been paused for a month. "Reciprocal tariffs start on April 2," he stated during a press conference arranged to announce Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s plan to invest at least US$100 billion to build semiconductor manufacturing facilities in the United States.
He elaborated that the tariffs would be "25 percent on Canada and 25 percent on Mexico," emphasizing that these tariffs are meant to encourage countries to build products in America. The Trump administration has been using tariffs to bolster domestic manufacturing, reduce America's trade deficits, and address other issues, including the flow of undocumented migrants and illicit drugs.
The administration plans to customize reciprocal tariffs based on trading partners' duties, non-tariff barriers, exchange rate policies, and other elements, such as "unfair, discriminatory or extraterritorial" taxes. In response, Seoul aims to secure tariff exemptions and hopes not to be disadvantaged compared to other countries.
Trump described tariffs as a "very powerful weapon" to ensure America is no longer "taken advantage of," noting, "It's going to be very costly for people to take advantage of this country." He emphasized that tariffs on Canada and Mexico are "all set" and "go into effect tomorrow."
Early last month, Trump agreed to delay imposing tariffs on Canada and Mexico for 30 days as the two countries pledged to bolster their efforts to prevent drug trafficking at their borders with the U.S.