Latest from Josh Boak | AP
The letters warned the countries to not retaliate by increasing their own import taxes, or else the Trump administration would further increase import taxes.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the goal was to enable automakers to create more domestic manufacturing jobs.
He declared a national economic emergency to launch the taxes, expected to produce hundreds of billions in annual revenue at the risk of driving up prices of goods for U.S. consumers and businesses.
On Wednesday, the president said he will roll out tariffs to free the United States from foreign goods.
An economist said this means more households will be priced out of the new car market — where prices already average about $49,000 — and will have to hang on to aging vehicles.
Because of the president’s threat, a previously untariffed $15 bottle of Italian Prosecco could cost $45.
The higher tariffs are set to take effect on Wednesday — a response to the price increases that the provincial government of Ontario put on electricity sold to the United States.
Las acciones estadounidenses cayeron bruscamente después del anuncio de Trump, ya que Wall Street esperaba que la vía arancelaria fuera menos dañina para el comercio global.
U.S. stock fell sharply after Trump’s announcement, as Wall Street hoped the tariff path would be less damaging for global trade.
The politics of tariffs could easily backfire on Trump if his agenda pushes up inflation and grinds down growth, making this a high stakes wager for a president eager to declare his authority over the U.S. economy.