New US punitive tariffs

Author: Mario Schmidtgen
Date: 13.06.2019

Over 300 billion dollars of new tariffs

US President Donald Trump benefits the trade war once again. If Chinese President Xi Jinping does not come to a meeting with Trump, the tariffs on further US imports with a volume of 300 billion dollars will be increased. This would affect all goods imported into the US from China.

According to Trump, the two heads of state will meet at the summit of the 20 largest industrialized and emerging countries in Osaka, Japan, on 28th and 29th June. The People’s Republic did not confirm a possible meeting. The last meeting took place on 10 May, when tariffs on Chinese US imports were increased from 200 billion dollars to 25 percent. Beijing reacted with countermeasures.

Agreement with Mexico

Now Mexico has also been targeted by the US President. The country will also be threatened with renewed punitive tariffs if no agreement can be reached between the two countries in the Mexican parliament regarding immigration. An important part of the immigration and security agreement with Mexico has already been signed, said Trump on Twitter. If the Mexican parliament rejects the agreement, punitive tariffs would be introduced.

In this case Trump would charge five percent on the imported goods of the neighboring country. Previously, Mexico was accommodating the USA and promised “strong” measures to secure its own southern border. A total of 6,000 national guardsmen will be sent to the border to Guatemala so that fewer migrants from Central America will reach the USA via Mexico.

Trump had already told on Twitter that the USA had reached a written agreement on migration with the neighboring country on Friday. This would suspend for an indefinite period the tariffs that should come into force on Monday. In return, Mexico had agreed to take “strong” measures to curb migration to the US.

Trump had promised in the 2016 election campaign that he would build a wall on the border at Mexico’s expense and thus prevent illegal immigration. He wants to be re-elected next year. Now he has to deliver. But Mexico refuses to pay, and a US court in May stopped the use of certain funds from the defense budget for the construction of the wall.