Trump: Reciprocal Tariffs May Have Some Leniency
President Donald Trump, in a March 25 interview with Newsmax, said that while he doesn't "want to have too many exceptions" to the reciprocal tariffs, the percentage that is imposed may be lower than what the administration assesses is the total burden of tariffs and non-tariff barriers.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
A White House official gave an example: if the administration estimates that Japan's barriers are equivalent to a 60% tariff on its exports, it might still choose a lower reciprocal tariff rate. "The leniency has more to do with the art of the deal and broader negotiations than about de-emphasizing tariffs or any particular non-tariff barrier," the official said on background.
Trump said this reciprocal approach "had to be done. We couldn't let this continue. And, you know, it's friend and foe. But oftentimes, friends, the so-called friends, were worse than the foes. You take a look at the European Union, what they did to this country, the way they took it to the cleaners."
He also singled out China, India and Brazil as countries that have been ripping the U.S. off for decades.
"And it's time that we get some of that money back, maybe a lot of that money back," he said.