No country should be exempted from customs duties that must be imposed by the Trump administration on steel and aluminum imports confirmed Sunday two officials, minimizing the impact that this measure could have on the rest of the economy US.
“I have not (Donald Trump) yet heard any particular exemptions,” said US Trade Secretary Wilbur Ross on the ABC channel.
“There will be an exemption procedure for special cases where we need exemptions for trade to move forward, but for now, no exemption for a country” as a whole, has said Peter Navarro, president advisor for Commerce on CNN. Statements that confirm the remarks on Friday by a US official, on condition of anonymity, on the intention of President Trump to announce next week 25% taxes on steel imports in the United States and 10% on aluminum was “a general decision that will not suffer exemption”.
Presidential adviser Peter Navarro also rejected the idea that these customs taxes could affect the US economy in general: “There are no downstream effects here,” he said, questioned about the risks that this decision could have on millions of jobs.
Same story on the side of the US Secretary of Commerce: “The total amount of tariffs we will impose is about 9 billion per year, it is a fraction of 1% of the economy. So the idea that it would destroy a lot of jobs, raise prices, jostle things, is wrong, “said Wilbur Ross.
The surprise announcement by Donald Trump – including his administration – has created an international outcry. Theresa May, the British prime minister, spoke directly to the president by phone on Sunday: “The Prime Minister has expressed our deep concern at the imminent announcement by the (US) president on the tariffs on steel and aluminum”, said his press service.
When asked about Canada, the largest steel supplier in the United States, Peter Navarro did not say: “If you exempt Canada, then you have to impose big, big tariffs on all the other countries.
The President “heard all the parties and made his decision. A strong, courageous decision and I think it’s the right decision, “said Trump’s advisor for the trade.
