US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has triumphantly deemed Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs a “reordering of fair trade” as tensions with global allies reach a peak.
Lutnick predicted countries will “stop picking on” the US after the European Union plotted its response to Trump’s fiery “Liberation Day” announcement.
In an interview with CNBC, Lutnick said the tariffs would open up the world market for US goods and remove “non-tariff trade barriers” plaguing American manufacturers.
“I expect most countries to start to really examine their trade policy towards the United States of America and stop picking on us,” he said.
“Stop saying that we can’t sell our corn to India, stop saying that we can’t sell our beef anywhere. Just stop treating us so poorly.”
Since Trump announced his sweeping new taxes on global imports Wednesday evening, world leaders have started rushing to respond.
Austria’s conservative economy minister Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer said the EU will need to “hit the US states” in a tit for tat response to Trump’s fiery “Liberation Day” announcement.
He said, “We have to hit Republican states and we have to hit Donald Trump’s friends, the tech companies.”
German Economy Minister Robert Habeck also warned that Trump will buckle under the growing pressure from Europe.
He said in a news conference, “That is what I see, that Donald Trump buckles under pressure, corrects his announcements under pressure.
“But the logical consequence is that he must also feel the pressure, and this pressure must now be exerted from Germany, from Europe.”
Europe’s strong reactions to the tariffs overnight have already led the US to respond to the uproar.
Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged nations to “sit back, take a deep breath, don’t immediately retaliate” after the explosive new trade program.
He told CNN, “Doing anything rash would be unwise.
“If you retaliate, that’s how we get escalation.”
Stocks plummeted in after-hours trading due to the tariffs, which include a baseline 10% tax on all imports starting April 5.
The new rates “prevent cheating” by raising what the US charges on imports to match the fees other countries put on American goods, Trump said.
“It’s our declaration of economic independence,” Trump said while announcing the new measures.
He said the US would use the money generated from tariffs to “reduce our taxes and pay down our national debt.”
The fresh rates are kicking off with new auto tariffs slapping a 25% tax on all foreign-made automobiles starting Thursday at midnight.
But European leaders didn’t take it lightly.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen slammed the tariffs as a “major blow to the world economy”, saying Brussels is “preparing for further countermeasures.”
French officials said the EU is “ready for a trade war.” Italian PM Giorgia Meloni blasted the tariffs as “wrong,” while Poland’s Donald Tusk warned “really and truly reciprocal tariffs” were on the table.
Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/13926666/tariffs-trump-liberation-day-live-updates-tax-canada/
