US President Donald Trump has once again reiterated that he is not planning to postpone the July 9 deadline for bringing back higher tariffs. He also repeated his warning that he may stop trade talks and put tariffs on several countries, including Japan.
When asked if he would be giving more time to trade talks, Trump said, “No, I’m not thinking about the pause”. He further added that he will be “writing letters to a lot of countries.”
Since the president paused the country-by-country tariffs, he and his administration have been promising many new deals to fix what the President believes are unfair trade relationships. But so far, the only agreements made have been general outlines with the UK and China. These deals did not solve all the major problems and left many details to be worked out later.
Trump positive on deal with India
The US President seemed optimistic about making a trade deal with India, a Bloomberg report said. When asked if a deal could be reached in the next week, he said it’s possible and that it would be a different kind of agreement.
Trump explained that the goal is to allow fair competition, as he feels India currently keeps foreign companies out. He added that if India opens up its market, then the US could agree to lower tariffs. “I think India is going to do that, and if they do that, we’re going to have a deal for much less tariffs,” Trump said.
India’s foreign minister S Jaishankar had said that the two countries are close to finalising a deal and that they are working through tough issues like tariffs on certain industries and access for genetically modified US crops. The talks have intensified, with India’s main negotiator, Rajesh Agarwal, staying longer in the US to help settle the remaining differences.
Trump expresses doubt over Japan deal
Trump on the other hand criticised Japan for not accepting US rice exports. He also mentioned that auto trade between the two countries is unfair. Trump said that he believes Japan should be made to pay a high tariff, possibly 30% or 35%, because the US has a large trade deficit with them.
Back in April, Trump suggested putting a 24% tariff on Japanese products. For now, those goods are being taxed at 10% while trade talks continue.
“I’m not sure we’re going to make a deal. I doubt it with Japan, they’re very tough. You have to understand, they’re very spoiled,” Trump said.