Trump tariffs aim to settle scores with countries, no matter their size

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump on July 9 added to his growing list of countries that would face steep tariffs in the coming weeks if they fail to reach trade agreements with the United States, as he threatens to drag nations large and small into his trade war.

On his social media account, the president posted form letters informing countries – including the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Moldova, Brunei, Libya, Iraq and Algeria – that they should prepare for double-digit tariff rates. Except for the name of the country and the tariff rate, the letters were identical to those he posted on July 7, which targeted 14 nations.

Later on July 9 afternoon, Mr Trump issued another threat to impose

a 50 per cent tariff on products from Brazil

. His letter implied that the higher rate was partly in response to what he described as a “witch hunt” against former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is facing trial for attempting a coup.

Brazil and the other trading partners that Mr Trump targeted on July 9 joined a growing list of countries that will face additional tariffs on Aug 1, including Japan and South Korea. The president’s renewed threats against both large and small trading partners suggests that he is hewing to a global tariff strategy he announced in early April that punishes countries broadly for a variety of trading practices and policies he has deemed unfair.

This week’s threats essentially seek to replace steep tariffs the president announced in April, when he singled out roughly 60 countries that sell more goods to the US than they buy from it.

Many countries are racing to try to sign trade deals, including major trading partners like the European Union and India. In April, the president’s top trade adviser Peter Navarro promised to sign 90 trade deals in 90 days.

But it remains impractical for the US to negotiate simultaneously with all the countries the president has threatened with tariffs, something he acknowledged at the White House on July 8.

In a meeting on July 9 with a group of African leaders at the White House, Mr Trump said that tariffs would be “a great thing for our country”.

“We’ve taken in hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs, hundreds of billions, and we haven’t even started yet,” he said.

Mr Trump’s letters repeatedly mentioned the bilateral trade deficits that the US runs with other countries, calling them “unsustainable” and “a major threat” to the nation’s economic security.

But many economists have criticised the president’s focus on the trade deficits with individual countries as a measure for US trading relationships. NYTIMES