Category Archives: Trump tariffs

Trump threatens tariffs on countries that ‘discriminate’ against US tech

Posted on by

Levies and restrictions could hit UK’s digital services tax and EU states such as France, Italy and Spain

Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs and export restrictions on countries whose taxes, legislation and regulations target US big tech companies such as Google, Meta, Amazon and Apple.

In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, the US president said: “Digital taxes, legislation, rules or regulations are all designed to harm, or discriminate against, American technology.”

Continue reading...

Canada to drop counter-tariffs on some US goods one day after call with Trump

Posted on by

Mark Carney says change will go into effect on 1 September but tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos will remain

Canada will drop its counter-tariffs on some American goods in the coming days, Mark Carney has said, as the country’s prime minister looks to end a protracted trade war with longtime ally the United States.

From 1 September, the Canadian government will remove some levies on US goods that comply with the North American free-trade pact, a move meant to “match” how the White House treated Canadian goods. Levies on steel, aluminum and autos will remain in place.

Continue reading...

Trump’s tariffs replace diplomacy as other US tools of statecraft are discarded

Posted on by

Measures meant to rebalance America’s economy are wielded instead against the likes of Canada, India and Brazil ‘to compel loyalty to the president’

On the campaign trail, Donald Trump pledged to use tariffs to revitalise American industry, bringing jobs home and helping to make America great again. But more than six months into his administration, experts say the president’s trade war is increasingly being wielded as a political cudgel, in lieu of more traditional forms of diplomacy.

The president’s current target, India, has been unable to reach a trade agreement, and Trump appears ready to follow through with his threat to impose a further 25% tariff on Delhi – bringing the total to 50% – the joint highest levy on any country, along with Brazil.

Continue reading...

Trump hiked tariffs on US imports. Now he’s looking at exports – sparking fears of ‘dangerous precedent’

Posted on by

Experts warn of destabilized trading relations after White House strikes deal with Nvidia to take a 15% cut of certain AI chip sales to Chinese companies

Apple CEO Tim Cook visited the White House bearing an unusual gift. “This box was made in California,” Cook reassured his audience in the Oval Office this month, as he took off the lid.

Inside was a glass plaque, engraved for its recipient, and a slab for the plaque to sit on. “The base was made in Utah, and is 24-karat gold,” said Cook.

Continue reading...

Nvidia and AMD agree to pay 15% of China chip sale revenues to US

Posted on by

Chipmakers agree to deal amid Trump trade war as condition for obtaining export licences for Chinese market

The chipmakers Nvidia and AMD have agreed to give the US government 15% of their revenue from advanced chips sold to China in return for export licences to the key market, in an unprecedented move amid Donald Trump’s trade war with China.

The move, an apparent reversal of US national security restrictions on the chip sales, signalled an easing in the US-China trade war.

Continue reading...

Farmers displaced by $1.5bn Trump golf course reportedly being offered rice and cash

Posted on by

White House denies suggestions resort in Vietnam presents conflict of interest amid row over compensation rates

Villagers whose farms in Vietnam will be bulldozed to make way for a $1.5bn golf resort backed by the Trump family have reportedly been offered rice provisions and cash compensation of as little as $12 for a square metre of land by state authorities.

Thousands of villagers will be offered compensation based on land size and location, according to a report by Reuters. The agency spoke to elderly farmers who said they feared they would struggle to find a stable livelihood.

Continue reading...

Top US diplomat in Brazil summoned to foreign ministry over Bolsonaro trial comments

Posted on by

US embassy accused supreme court judge of persecuting ex-president, currently on trial for alleged coup attempt

Brazil’s foreign ministry has summoned the US chargé d’affaires after the embassy posted comments about the trial of former president Jair Bolsonaro, as relations between the two countries continue to deteriorate.

On Thursday, the embassy published a social media post in Portuguese criticising the supreme court justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is overseeing the cases against Bolsonaro, who is on trial over an alleged coup attempt.

Continue reading...

Shares in European drug companies hit four-month low as Trump tariffs loom

Posted on by

President repeats threat to bring in levies ‘within next week or so’ in attempt to get companies to move production to US

Shares in European pharmaceutical companies have sunk to a four-month low, after Donald Trump repeated his threats to introduce tariffs on drug imports “within the next week or so”.

Europe’s Stoxx Health Care index slid by 2.8% on Wednesday, falling to its lowest level since mid-April, shortly after the US president’s initial “liberation day” tariff announcements.

Continue reading...

US steps up efforts to help Bolsonaro avoid jail over alleged coup plot

Posted on by

State department condemns judge’s decision to place former Brazil president under house arrest as trial proceeds

The US has intensified its campaign to help Jair Bolsonaro avoid punishment for allegedly masterminding a failed coup, with the state department denouncing the decision to place Brazil’s former president under house arrest.

“Let Bolsonaro speak!” the department’s bureau of western hemisphere affairs tweeted on Monday night after the far-right populist was confined to his mansion in the capital, Brasília, and police seized his mobile phone.

Continue reading...

Swiss president under fire after Trump call leads to US tariffs shock

Posted on by

Karin Keller-Sutter accused of mishandling talks as shares dive after Switzerland hit with 39% tariff

The Swiss stock market has plunged, the cabinet has been holding emergency talks and President Karin Keller-Sutter has been accused of mishandling a vital phone call with the White House after Donald Trump hit the country with a shock 39% export tariff.

Switzerland, home to some of the world’s best-known luxury brands, was left stunned after the US president on Friday imposed one of the highest tariff rates in his global trade reset. Industry associations warned that tens of thousands of jobs were at risk.

Continue reading...

White House officials rush to defend Trump after shaky economic week

Posted on by

US trade representative says ‘the president is the president’ after firing of labor statistics chief amid slow job growth

Donald Trump administration officials fanned out on Sunday’s US political shows to defend the president’s policies after a bruising week of poor economic, trade and employment numbers that culminated with the firing of labor statistics chief Erika McEntarfer.

The US trade representative, Jamieson Greer, said Trump had “real concerns” about the jobs numbers that extend beyond Friday’s report that showed the national economy added 73,000 jobs in July, far below expectations. Job growth numbers were revised down by 285,000 for the two previous months as well.

Continue reading...

India to still buy oil from Russia despite Trump threats, say officials

Posted on by

No pause on Russian imports by Indian oil firms who base decisions on ‘price, grade of crude, logistics and economic factors’

Indian oil refineries will continue to buy oil from Russia, officials have said, before threatened US sanctions next week against Moscow’s trading partners over the war in Ukraine.

Media reports on Friday had suggested India, a big energy importer, would stop buying cheap Russian oil. Trump later told reporters that such a move would be “a good step” if true.

Continue reading...

India to still buy oil from Russia despite Trump threats, say officials

Posted on by

No pause on Russian imports by Indian oil firms who base decisions on ‘price, grade of crude, logistics and economic factors’

Indian oil refineries will continue to buy oil from Russia, officials have said, before threatened US sanctions next week against Moscow’s trading partners over the war in Ukraine.

Media reports on Friday had suggested India, a big energy importer, would stop buying cheap Russian oil. Trump later told reporters that such a move would be “a good step” if true.

Continue reading...

India to still buy oil from Russia despite Trump threats, say officials

Posted on by

No pause on Russian imports by Indian oil firms who base decisions on ‘price, grade of crude, logistics and economic factors’

Indian oil refineries will continue to buy oil from Russia, officials have said, before threatened US sanctions next week against Moscow’s trading partners over the war in Ukraine.

Media reports on Friday had suggested India, a big energy importer, would stop buying cheap Russian oil. Trump later told reporters that such a move would be “a good step” if true.

Continue reading...

Trump steps up attacks on Fed’s independence amid interest rates row

Posted on by

US president called on top Fed officials to seize control from chair Jerome Powell if he fails to cut interest rates

Donald Trump called on top Federal Reserve officials to seize control from its chair, Jerome Powell, if he fails to cut interest rates, stepping up his extraordinary attacks on the central bank’s independence.

The US president called Powell “a stubborn MORON” in a series of critical social media posts on Friday, days after the Fed held rates steady for the fifth consecutive time.

Continue reading...

US adds just 73,000 jobs in July amid pressure from trade war and ‘increasing signs of fragility’ in labor market

Posted on by

July jobs growth slowed amid rising signs that Trump’s tariffs are weighing on trade, prices and hiring

The US economy added 73,000 jobs in July, far lower than expected, amid ongoing concerns with Donald Trump’s escalating trade war.

Forecasters surveyed by Bloomberg had predicted the July jobs report would show a drop in added jobs to around 109,000. The unemployment rate rose to 4.2% from 4.1% in June.

Continue reading...

‘Classic tinpot dictator’: Trump exports his assault on democracy to Brazil

Posted on by

US president seems to be weaponizing tariffs to punish Brazil for its coup trial against his ally Bolsonaro

Over the past six months, Donald Trump has been accused of rapidly dragging the largest democracy in the Americas towards authoritarianism. Now, the US president seems bent on undermining the region’s second largest democracy too.

Since early July, Trump has launched an extraordinary attack on Brazil’s institutions, slapping 50% tariffs on imports from the South American country and sanctions on a supreme court judge – partly in retribution for what he called the political persecution of his ally, Jair Bolsonaro, who is on trial for allegedly masterminding a failed coup.

Continue reading...

Canada braces as tariff deadline looms and talks with US ‘chaos machine’ drag

Posted on by

Ottawa is still trying to find a trade deal with Washington to avoid heavy tariffs as 1 August deadline approaches

After months of tariff threats from the US and escalating trade tensions that have sowed anger in Canada and fractured a once-close alliance, the country is now fast approaching a 1 August deadline to reach a deal with the Trump administration – which has shown no signs of backing down.

And observers are keeping a close eye on negotiations this week to determine whether too large a chasm has grown between the countries, resulting in what could be an explosive end to what was decades of free-flowing trade.

Continue reading...

Trump threatens Canada on trade deal after Carney moves to recognise Palestine

Posted on by

Trump says recognising Palestine statehood ‘rewards Hamas’ and US deal with Canada would now be ‘very hard’

Donald Trump has threatened Canada after it moved to recognise a Palestinian state, reacting to Mark Carney’s announcement by saying that signing a US trade deal would now be “very hard”.

The Canadian prime minister said on Wednesday that if the Palestinian Authority promised to meet certain conditions, including demilitarising and holding elections without Hamas, Canada would join France, the UK and other allies in formally recognising a state of Palestine at the UN general assembly in New York in September.

Continue reading...

US to impose 15% tariffs on South Korea as part of trade deal, Donald Trump says

Posted on by

President Lee Jae Myung says deal puts South Korea on an equal or better footing than other countries

President Donald Trump has said the US will charge a 15% tariff on imports from South Korea as part of an agreement with the key Asian trading partner and ally that avoids even higher levies.

The arrangement, announced shortly after Trump met with Korean officials at the White House, came during a blizzard of trade policy announcements ahead of a self-imposed 1 August deadline.

Continue reading...