Trump’s reciprocal tariffs take effect undeterred by negotiations

Washington:  US President Donald Trump’s sweeping reciprocal tariffs go into effect Tuesday at midnight US Eastern time (9:30 am IST) unaffected by negotiations underway between the US and the affected trading partner countries, with the heaviest levy of 104 per cent on goods from China.

India has been tariffed 26 per cent and is among the countries hit the hardest.

The Trump administration has said negotiations are on with 70 trading partner countries, and efforts are being made to agree on a tailor-made deal with every country and not an off-the-rack template for all.

White House Spokesperson Karoline Levitt said the reciprocal tariffs, “will continue to go in effect as these deals are negotiated”.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed and agreed on the “early conclusion” of a Bilateral Trade Agreement on a call on Monday, which was the first discussion on trade between the two sides at the level of cabinet officials.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Trump have not spoken yet after the announcement of the reciprocal tariffs but that could change very soon as the American leader has been receptive to negotiations despite assertions from his aides that the levies are not negotiable.

Trump spoke Monday with Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and met in person with Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu and had a call with the South Korean acting president, Han Duck-soo.

The American leader has also expressed dismay that the Chinese decided to hit back with retaliatory tariffs instead of negotiations, showing, once again, that he is open to negotiating the tariffs that have shocked the world and spooked markets.

Levitt pushed back against the suggestion that the White House’s position on negotiations on these tariffs has evolved. “The entire administration has always said that President Trump is willing to pick up the phone and talk.”

There are no time limits on these negotiations and imports from these countries will continue to be tariffed at the new rate even as talks are on. And that is going to be a protracted affair as the US looks for tailor-made deals for each country.

“The President met with his trade team this morning, and he directed them to have tailor-made trade deals with every country that calls up this administration to strike a deal and listen,” Levitt said. “And each and every one of these trade deals should be tailored and unique based on that country’s markets, based on that country’s exports, the imports here in the United States of America, what makes the most sense for the American worker and for our industry, the President is focused on putting America first.”

Jamieson Greer, the US trade representative, was pressed by lawmakers at a hearing Monday for a timeline on the negotiations. “ We don’t have any particular timeline,” he said, adding, “the outcome is more important than setting something artificially for us. What I can say is I’m moving as quickly as possible.”

–IANS