The President of the USA, Donald Trump, has called April 2 "Liberation Day". On that day, he will, according to his own statement, announce what kind of tariffs he intends to impose on countries that export more to the USA than they import from the country.
It will apply to all countries, and we will do it very gently, said Trump at a press conference last week, adding that the USA will be kind.
The news also came that the USA will introduce global trade tariffs on all car imports to the country starting April 3. This has caused companies like Volvo Cars and Volkswagen to plummet on the stock exchange. On May 3, the car tariffs will be followed by tariffs on car parts.
Has Given Clues
Donald Trump hopes to secure the USA's domestic production in this way - the White House describes car imports to the country as a threat to national security. However, the news agency Bloomberg estimates that the tariffs will reduce the USA's GDP by 0.3 percent and increase inflation in the country by 0.2 percent.
This is not a negotiating tactic. They mean business when they want to try to strengthen car production in the USA, said US economist Elisabet Kopelman recently to TT.
When it comes to other tariffs that may come, Trump has given some clues, but keeping track of all his statements is at least confusing.
A compilation from Bloomberg shows that he, in addition to the broader, global tariffs, has also talked about a range of specific industries. He has mentioned food, without specifying any details, he has talked about 25 percent tariffs on medicines and data chips.
He has also threatened to impose tariffs of 200 percent on wine, champagne, and other alcoholic products from the EU, as a response to the EU's discussions about introducing 25 percent tariffs on American whiskey - which in turn was a countermove to the steel and aluminum tariffs that the USA introduced in March.
Affects Spain
Trump's aggressive trade policy has also led to further tariffs against China and tariffs against Canada and Mexico, despite the free trade agreement between the countries.
He has also threatened Canada with further tariffs on steel and aluminum, and announced that he can ease China's tariffs if the sale of the American part of Tiktok is completed before the deadline expires on April 5.
He has recently also clarified that all trade with all countries that buy oil and gas from Venezuela will be subject to 25 percent tariffs in the USA, which affects, among others, India, China, and Spain.
