Trade deals with India, Japan, South Korea to come into effect soon: Trump

Trump also noted that even though the US will try to make many deals with the countries that have been hit by tariffs, in many cases, he would have to take a hard line

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (local time) claimed that over 100 countries have been calling the US “morning, noon, night” and are keen to make a deal on tariffs. He said that the first tariff deals with India, Japan, and South Korea will come into effect in just a few weeks.

 

Trump made these remarks at NewsNation’s townhall after completing his first 100 days in office. He also said, “We’re in a great position of strength. We’ll make great deals, and where we don’t make great deals, we’re just going to set the deals.”

Trump noted that instead of negotiating, he could rather set deals with several countries at 40, 50, or even 60 per cent. He said even though the US will try to make many deals with the countries that have been hit by tariffs, in many cases, he would have to take a hard line.

 

Earlier, Trump has been questioned on the timing of the announcement of the trade deals, to which he responded that he is not in a rush to get the deals done. He said, “We are sitting in the catbird seat. They want us. We don’t need them. …They’ve been ripping us off. South Korea has been ripping us off. We pay for their military, they take advantage of us on trade.”

 

Calling out the countries which, according to Trump, take advantage of the US by charging them high tariff rates, he said, “These are friend and foe, and we often do better with foe — meaning the enemy — than we do with the friends. The friends have been brutal to this country on trade.”

 

These remarks come a day after Trump claimed that talks with India on tariffs were “coming along great” and a deal is likely soon. Previously, on Tuesday, a Reuters report suggested that the Indian government is all set to include a ‘sweetner’ in trade talks with the US.

 

Trump’s reciprocal tariffs 

Trump announced ‘reciprocal tariffs’ on over 100 countries on April 2, including India, China, and Japan. A 26 per cent “discounted” tariff rate was imposed on India in comparison to India’s 52 per cent rate on US goods. While many countries tried negotiating deals with the US, China retaliated and engaged in a trade war with both nations imposing high tariffs against one another. On April 9, Trump announced a 90-day pause on the reciprocal, discounted tariffs, however, the pause did not apply to China, which currently has a 145 per cent tariff rate in retaliation for China’s 125 per cent on US goods.