TMTPOST -- U.S. President Donald Trump threatened on Friday he could soon slap on Canada with new tariffs even though a day before he just decided to delay extra 25% levies on Canadian imports for almost a month.
Credit：China Central Television
Trump said he may implement reciprocal tariffs on Canadian dairy and lumber as soon as Friday as the U.S. neighbour has levied tremendously high tariffs on U.S. He claimed these levies are hurting American dairy farmers, citing Canada’s roughly 250% tariff on dairy products.
“Canada has been ripping us off for years on tariffs for lumber and for dairy products,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “They'll be met with the exact same tariffs, unless they drop it, and ... we may do it as early as today or we'll wait 'til Monday or Tuesday. We’re going to charge the same thing. It’s not fair. It never has been fair, and they’ve treated our farmers badly.”
Trump also noted India has high tariff rates, but adding the South Asian country had agreed to cut its import duties.
Canadian trade minister Mary Ng later dismissed Trump’s remarks. He told reporters Trump’s claim that Canada was ripping off the U.S. was not true, and his proposed reciprocal tariffs on dairy and lumber are “completely unjustified.”
“I learned about it just as I was walking into this press conference,” Ng said. “These tariffs if imposed in that order of magnitude is completely unjustified.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday said Trump granted a one-month exemption from tariffs to automobiles imported from Canada and Mexico. A day later, the president extended the exemption.
Trump signed on Thursday executive actions to grant temporary exemptions from tariffs imposed on Canadian and Mexican imports that are covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) until April 2. USMCA, namely the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, is a trade agreement that Trump's first administration negotiated to replace the decades-old North American Free Trade Agreement.
That move effectively delays the extra 25% tariffs that just entered effect on Tuesday for almost a month. April 2 is the date that Trump plans to implement reciprocal tariffs on major U.S. trading partners. About 50% of Mexican imports and 38% of Canadian imports are covered by the USMCA, CNBC cited a White House official.
Under the latest adjustment, no tariffs on those goods from Canada and Mexico that claim and qualify for USMCA preference, while goods that do not satisfy USMCA rules of origin still face 25% tariffs, according to a White House fact sheet. It said that energy products imported from Canada that fall outside the USMCA preference and any potash imported from Canada and Mexico that falls outside the USMCA preference are all subject to a lower10% tariffs.
In an interview with Fox News aired earlier Friday, Trump said the 30-day exemption he granted to automakers was a short-term measure and tariffs could go up as time goes by. And on April 2, reciprocal tariffs would be implemented to equalize any duty rates between the United States, Canada and Mexico, he said.
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said on Friday the reciprocal tariffs plan will make tariff rates in U.S. match those higher tariffs and non-tariff barriers on the country imposed by other countries. The tariff adjustment would be made at the industry level as well as country-specific investigations.
"The concept here is one number-one number that reflects, in the aggregate, the unfairness embedded in the higher tariffs and non-tariff barriers that countries impose on us," Navarro said.
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