U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer stated that the new round of tariffs imposed by President Trump on multiple countries last week are “basically set” and will not be adjusted in the current negotiations.
These tariffs will take effect this Thursday (August 7), with the U.S. setting different tariff rates on goods from Canada, Brazil, India, and Switzerland.
On Sunday, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer stated that the new round of tariffs imposed by President Trump on multiple countries last week are “basically set” and will not be adjusted in the current negotiations.
Tariffs on trade with dozens of countries have been finalized.
Last Thursday, Trump announced a series of new tariffs on exports from over 60 U.S. trading partners, including a 35% tariff on a significant number of commodities from Canada, a 50% tariff on Brazil, a 25% tariff on India, and a 39% tariff on Switzerland.
These tariffs will take effect this Thursday (August 7). According to CCTV News, when asked if Trump would lower the tariff rates through negotiations in the coming days, Greer responded, “I don’t think so,” adding that these tariff rates are “set according to the agreement.”
In the initial trade negotiations after Trump took office, the White House had already reduced tariffs on several countries from their initially announced levels, including halving the import tariffs in a recent agreement with the EU.
However, Greer stated on a TV program on Sunday that this is not the case in the most recent round of tariffs.
Many of these are tariff rates set according to agreements. Some of these agreements have been announced, while others have not; the rest depend on our trade deficit or surplus with that particular country... These tariff rates are essentially fixed.
I'm sure my phone has been ringing off the hook. Some trade ministers want to negotiate further and explore different ways to work with the U.S., but I think we now have a clear outline of the president's tariff plan.
Trump's Top Priorities
Greer also explained how Trump considers tariff levels:
When the president considers this issue (tariffs), he looks at potential deals. We present to him the possible concessions from other countries and what they might be willing to do. He compares these with the potential tariffs that could be used to reduce the deficit. Then he discusses it with his advisors.
He emphasized that Trump's primary goal in trade matters is to bring manufacturing back to the U.S.:
He is trying to address the trade deficit and bring manufacturing back to the U.S. So, these are the factors he considers when deciding whether to impose tariffs directly or accept an agreement.
However, economists in the U.S. generally worry that tariffs will have a negative impact on the American economy.
In a recent interview, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan stated that the bank's economists have forecast that while the U.S. economy will continue to grow, they expect the growth rate to be lower than it was six or nine months ago, reflecting the impact of tariff wars and trade-related factors.
Editor/Jeffy