US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday, February 4, 2024, that he will impose new 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the United States, effective Monday, February 5, 2024. The announcement came during Trump's trip to New Orleans to attend the Super Bowl. The new tariffs will be in addition to existing metal duties, marking another major escalation of Trump's trade policy overhaul.
Trump also stated that he will announce reciprocal tariffs on Tuesday or Wednesday, February 6-7, 2024, to take effect almost immediately. These tariffs will apply to all countries and will match the tariff rates levied by each country. "If they charge us, we charge them," Trump explained.
The announcement comes after Trump delayed the imposition of 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, which were initially scheduled to take effect on February 4, 2024. The delay followed agreements from both countries to increase border security measures to reduce fentanyl trafficking and the influx of migrants into the United States. Mexico agreed to deploy 10,000 National Guard troops to its border with the United States as part of the agreement, while Canada appointed a "fentanyl czar" and designated drug cartels as terrorist organizations.
Trump did, however, implement the previously announced 10% additional tariff on goods from China, which was met with similar levies by the Asian giant. Trump is scheduled to have a conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Since taking office on January 20, 2024, Trump has used tariff threats as a tool of pressure against other countries, despite the potential for these measures to lead to price increases in the United States.
Two weeks ago, Trump threatened tariffs on Colombia to force the country to accept the deportation of Colombian migrants after its president, Gustavo Petro, refused the arrival of two deportation flights due to the poor conditions in which they were traveling.
Trump assured last Friday, February 2, 2024, that the United States and Japan will counter what he called "Chinese economic aggression" after receiving Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House.
In a joint press conference in Washington, the Republican also said that Japan will import US natural gas "in record quantities." According to a study conducted for Congress, in 2023 the United States recorded a deficit of $72 billion in goods trade with Japan. According to Trump, tariffs are an option if this trade deficit is not balanced.
In this first summit between the two leaders, Shigeru Ishiba reportedly agreed to increase imports of US natural gas. This would strengthen the energy security of a resource-poor Japan, while allowing Trump, who sees every diplomatic exchange as a trade negotiation, to claim an economic victory.
Japan invests heavily in the United States. In fact, in 2023, it was the leading source of foreign direct investment in US territory. More recently, the Japanese technology investment giant SoftBank Group, whose head Masayoshi Son is close to Trump, participated in a major investment project in artificial intelligence in the United States. But not all Japanese investments are well received.
Former Democratic President Joe Biden blocked the proposed friendly acquisition of the steel giant US Steel by Nippon Steel.
For his part, Shigeru Ishiba assured on Sunday, February 4, 2024, that in his meeting with Trump they discussed the Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel's plan to acquire U.S. Steel and was in tune with the Republican's surprising comments about the alleged withdrawal of the offer, stating that a mechanism would be studied for the latter to remain American.
Latin America will face the consequences of the suspension of funds and the cutback of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which in 2024 contributed $2.3 billion to the region, a decision adopted by President Trump, which threatens the continuity of programs in 130 countries and will harm millions of people who have benefited from US cooperation. What began as a temporary 90-day measure to "reduce public spending and bureaucracy, re-evaluate the effectiveness of programs and prevent the possible misuse of funds" has become an uncertain situation for USAID, an entity that "has come time for it to die," according to Elon Musk, head of the US Department of Government Efficiency. Trump plans to reduce its staff from 10,000 to just 290 positions, according to The New York Times.