President Donald Trump sent tariff letters to seven smaller U.S. trading partners on Wednesday and promised to announce import taxes to other countries later that day.
The countries that have not been targeted by the Philippines, Brunei, Moldova, Algeria, Libya, Iraq and Sri Lanka are major industrial competitors. This shows that a president who publicly expressed the word “tariff” still infects him with the idea that tax trade will create prosperity for the United States.
Most economic analysis suggests that tariffs will increase inflationary pressures and subtract from economic growth, but Trump has used taxation as a way to argue for U.S. diplomatic and financial power over its competitors and allies. His administration promises import taxes will reduce trade imbalances, offset some of the tax cuts he signed into law on Friday and result in factory jobs returning to the U.S.
EU officials, the EU’s main trading partner and a source of Trump’s anger over trade, said Tuesday they did not want to hear from Trump’s listing tariffs. The Republican president began announcing tariffs on Monday, with import taxes of 25% through attacks with two major trading partners, Japan and South Korea.
According to a letter from Trump, imports from Libya, Iraq, Algeria and Sri Lanka will be taxed at 30%, import rates for Moldova and Brunei will be 25%, and the Philippines will be taxed at 20%. Tariffs will begin on August 1.
The Census Bureau reported that the US dollar of goods was unbalanced last year with Algeria, US$1.4 billion in Iraq, US$900 million in value, Libya, Philippines, US$4.9 billion, Philippines, US$2.6 billion, Sri Lanka, US$111 million, US$111 million, Brunei and US$8.5 million, Moldova. The imbalance represents the difference between the differences between what the United States exports to these countries and imports.
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To sum up, the trade imbalance with these seven countries is essentially a complete mistake in the US economy, with a GDP of $300 trillion.
The letters published information about Truth Social after the expiration of the 90-day negotiation period, with a baseline tax of 10%. Trump has given countries more time to negotiate with his August 1 deadline, but he insists that countries receiving the letters will not be extended.
Maros Sefcovic, the EU’s chief trade negotiator, told EU lawmakers in Strasbourg on Wednesday that the EU was not conducive to the tariff increase contained in the letters sent by Trump and extended the negotiations until August 1, “will provide “extra room to reach satisfactory conclusions.”
Trump proposed a 20% tariff on EU goods on April 2, and then threatened to increase it to 50% after negotiations, but the speed is not as fast as he hopes, and can only restore the 10% benchmark. The EU has 27 member states, including France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
The tariff letters are positively worded in the way Trump writes. He saw tariffs as an invitation to “participate in the extraordinary American economy”, adding that trade imbalances are a “main threat” to the U.S. economy and national security.
The president threatens additional tariffs in any country attempting to retaliate. He said he chose to send letters because it was too complicated for U.S. officials to negotiate with their peers with new tariff countries. Brokerage trade agreements can take years.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba interpreted the August 1 deadline as a delay so that more time to negotiate, although he informed in his remarks that the tariffs would harm the family industry and employment in his country.
Malaysia’s trade minister Zafrul Aziz said on Wednesday that his country would not meet all U.S. requirements after Trump’s letter imposed a 25% tariff on his goods. Aziz said U.S. officials are seeking changes in government procurement, halal certification, medical standards and digital taxes. Aziz said that was the red line.
State Government Minister Marco Rubio is scheduled to arrive in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, on Thursday.
–David McHugh of Frankfurt, Germany, and Eileen Ng of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia contributed to the report.
& Copy 2025 Canadian Press
