Congress MP and General Secretary Jairam Ramesh. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Washington:

President Donald Trump’s tariffs will have a major ripple effect on American households, and drastically lower the purchasing power of poor households, as noted by the Congressional Budget Office.

Trump’s tariffs could add an extra $830 tax this year on the average US household as analysed by the nonpartisan nonprofit Tax Foundation.

The president has been threatening tariffs on various countries since his presidential campaign and has said that since January 31, he would impose 25 percent tariffs on goods imported from Mexico and Canada and from February onwards, 10% on imports from China.

“It’s something we’re doing, and we’ll possibly very substantially increase it, or not, we’ll see how it is,” Trump said. “But it’s a lot of money coming to the United States.”

Moreover he has threatened to impose 100% tariffs on BRICS nations including India if they create their own currency and replace the dollar.

However, the foundation found that his proposed tariffs would shrink the economic output of the country by 0.4% and increase taxes by $1.2 trillion between 2025 and 2034. In addition to that, the tariffs could even threaten the American gains of recent years.

The tariffs levied during Trump’s first term and Biden’s recent term have also hurt the economy.

The research suggests that Trump’s administration imposed approximately $80 billion in new taxes through tariffs between 2018 and 2019. The Biden administration retained the tariffs and in May added additional tariff hikes on $18 billion of Chinese goods, including semiconductors, which amounted to a tax increase of $3.6 billion.

It also shows that both Trump’s and Biden’s tariffs have lowered output, employment, raised prices and produced a “net negative impact on the U.S. economy.”

The Congressional Budget Office estimated that tariffs would hike up consumer goods but they added that after 2025, they would not have any “additional significant effects on prices.”
 

Washington:

The United States will impose tariffs on the countries that “harm” America, President Donald Trump has said, as he named China, India and Brazil as high-tariff countries.

“We’re going to put tariffs on outside countries and outside people that really mean harm to us. Well, they mean us harm, but they basically want to make their country good,” Trump told House Republicans at a Florida retreat on Monday, the first after he became the president for the second term last week.

“Look at what others do. China is a tremendous tariff maker, and India and Brazil and so many other countries. So we’re not going to let that happen any longer because we’re going to put America first,” he said.

He said that the US will establish a “very fair system where money is going to come into our coffers and America is going to be very rich again”, adding that it will happen “very quickly”.

Trump underscored that it was time for the US to return to the system that made it “richer and more powerful than ever before.” Referring to his inaugural speech last week, Trump said: “Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich foreign nations, we should be tariffing and taxing foreign nations to enrich our citizens.” “Under the American first economic model, as tariffs on other countries go up, taxes on American workers and businesses will come down and massive numbers of jobs and factories will come home,” he said.

Earlier, Trump has already talked about slapping “100 per cent tariffs” on the BRICS grouping, a bloc that includes India as well.

During his address, Trump asked companies to come and set up manufacturing units in the US if they wished to avoid tariffs.

“If you want to stop paying the taxes or the tariffs, you have to build your plant right here in America. That’s what’s going to happen at record levels. We’re going to have more plants built in the next short period of time than anybody ever envisioned before because the incentive is going to be there because they have no tariff whatsoever,” he said.

The president said that the US will support companies building plants in America, particularly in industries like pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and steel.

Trump added that his administration would also be placing tariffs on steel, aluminium, copper and other materials required by the US military. “We have to bring production back to our country. There was a time when we made one ship a day, and now we can’t build a ship. We don’t know what the hell we’re doing. It’s all gone to other locations and other lands,” he said.

“To further return production to the United States, we’re going to environmentally free up our rare earth minerals. We have some of the best rare earth anywhere in the world, but we’re not allowed to use it because the environmentalists got there first,” said the president in his address. PTI LKJ GRS GRS

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

President-elect Donald Trump is determined to not do business with countries that refuse to take back migrants.

“I’ll get them into every country, or we won’t do business with those countries,” Trump said in an interview with Time magazine after being picked as the 2024 “Person of the Year”. This is the second time he has been honoured with the title. He was recognised for his “historic comeback”.

“I want them out, and the countries have got to take them back, and if they don’t take them back, we won’t do business with those countries, and we will tariff those countries very substantially,” he added.

As Trump had already made clear by making border security and immigration policies the cornerstone of his campaign.

He said that he will make business “very hard” for countries that refuse to take back migrants, and they will be slapped with “substantial tariffs”.

“Whatever it takes to get them out. I don’t care. Honestly, whatever it takes to get them out. Again, I’ll do it absolutely within the confines of the law, but if it needs new camps, but I hope we’re not going to need too many because I want to get them out, and I don’t want them sitting in camp for the next 20 years.”

The soon-to-be 47th president also said that he does not want families to be separated, so regardless of their immigration status, parents and children will be deported together.

He reiterated that the US will let people in but only legally.

“We don’t want people to come in from jails. We don’t want the jails of Venezuela and many other countries, and not just South American countries. We don’t want the jails to be opened up into our country. We’re not accepting their prisoners. We’re not accepting their murders. We’re not accepting their people from mental institutions. We’re not doing it”, he said.

Trump emphasised that he intends to deport illegal immigrants by military force. “We’ll get National Guard, and we’ll go as far as I’m allowed to go, according to the laws of our country,” he answered.
 

Jimmy Kimmel in his show last night really doubted President-elect Donald Trump’s grasp of economics. 

“Whoever would have guessed that the mail-order steak salesman who declared bankruptcy six times would be so bad with money?” He took a shot at Trump’s financial mismanagement. 

Referring to Trump’s decision of imposing a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, Kimmel said, “Some say this is the dumbest thing he’s come up with since Don Jr.”

“On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders”, Trump had said.

Kimmel remarked that the countries on which these taxes are imposed – China, Canada and Mexico, do not even pay the import taxes, it is the US companies that will pay those taxes which will ultimately come down to the consumer and result in “$40 avocados”. He added, “So by next year, if you want extra guacamole, it’ll be cheaper to go get it.”

He went on to further lambast Trump’s tariff plans by saying the aftermath will be inflation going through the roof. 

Bringing Canada into the picture, Trump took a dig at the beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar as well, saying, “Poor Canada is like what did we do? I mean be honest is this because of Drake?”

He also pointed out the irony of some of Trump’s merchandise being produced in China – a country he has repeatedly accused of having unfair trade practices and stealing jobs in America. 

“So now if you want to purchase a tie from the Donald J.Trump collection, you better get it immediately, or it’s going to cost an extra 10%,” Kimmel quipped.

A recent investigation found that Trump’s “God Bless the USA” Bibles were printed for only $3 in China and sold for $59.99 and if hand-signed by the former president, would sell for $1000. He never got around to disclosing how much he makes per sale though. Although the “Make America Great Again” are labelled as “Made In America”, the origins of other products still remain murky.

Mexico has threatened Trump with retaliatory tariffs, while Canadian Prime Minister has had talks with the president-elect regarding the challenges.
 

Washington:

President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to slap a 25% tariff on all goods imported from America’s largest trading partners – Mexico and Canada, starting January 20, his first day in office.

But this tariff imposition is also set to have severe implications on his own countrymen, who may face higher prices on various goods.

His first term was marked by a significant trade war with China, aimed at boosting US manufacturing, securing national security interests, and addressing what Trump believed was an extremely imbalanced trade relationship.

President Joe Biden maintained most of these tariffs and even added new ones.

But the new tariffs come at a time when the US has grown increasingly reliant on imports from Mexico and Canada. Mexico has overtaken China as the top exporter of goods to the US, while Canada is a close third. This means that the new tariffs will be virtually inescapable for Americans, as businesses facing higher costs will likely pass them on to consumers.

This potential trade war could break banks. Here are a few items that could get more expensive if Trump decides to follow through with his tariff plan.

Gas

The US imports a significant amount of crude oil from Canada, which is refined to produce gasoline and heating oil. A 25% tariff could lead to an increase of 25-75 cents per gallon, impacting Americans in the Great Lakes, Midwest, and Rockies regions.

After Canada’ expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline, the oil imports to the US had reached a whopping 4.3 million barrels per day.

“You can’t simply process different oil overnight. It would take investments/years. More US supply wouldn’t help,” Patrick De Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy said on X.

Produce

As a byproduct of climate change, the US has become less favourable for agriculture and relies heavily on Mexico. 

$44.1 billion worth of agricultural products were imported by the US from Mexico in 2022.

90% of avocados Americans also consumed in 2022 were imported. A 25% tariff could make guacamole and avocado toast more expensive.

Cars

Mexico is a major hub for car manufacturing, with many US carmakers relying on parts from Mexico to build their vehicles. A 25% tariff could disrupt this supply chain and lead to higher car prices.

Last year, $44.76 billion worth of vehicles were imported from Mexico to the US.

Alcohol

According to US Department of Agriculture data, 80% of beer imports come from Mexico. Moreover there is tequila that comes from Mexico and other liqueurs from Canada that drives import growth.

In 2023, $4.6 billion worth of tequila and $108 million worth of mezcal was imported by the US from Mexico, according to the Distilled Spirits Council.

The tariffs of spirits are bound to start a chain reaction leading to job losses in the hospitality industry as well, which are still on their way to recovery after the pandemic.

The tariffs on these imports are bound to hurt the consumers if businesses face higher costs. Trump’s tariff plan has already sparked concerns among businesses and economists, who warn that it could lead to higher prices, job losses, and a decline in economic growth.