Radio Cadena Agramonte emisiora de Camagüey
Washington, August 1st.- Much of the world is awaiting the entry into force of Donald Trump's announced reciprocal tariffs after the deadline given by the US president to finalize trade agreements has passed.
The August 1st deadline remains firm and will not be extended, Trump warned the day before.
The grace period has ended, and only six agreements have been reached so far: the United Kingdom, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, and the European Union, whose tariffs range between 15 percent and 20 percent.
Meanwhile, the United States and China have resumed talks to extend the 90-day tariff truce they agreed upon in late May in Geneva, which expires on August 12th.
In the meantime, 20 countries have been notified that they will face taxes between 25 percent and 50 percent. One of them is Brazil, which in recent days has become the focus of Trump's attacks as he defended former President Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2023).
Earlier this month, a letter was sent to the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, regarding the 50 percent tariff and its entry into force.
In the letter, Trump threatened the high tariff if Brazil did not end the trial of Bolsonaro - a strong ally and defender of the Republican - accused of the coup attempt to annul the October 2022 elections and prevent Lula's inauguration, which took place on January 1, 2023.
Additionally, the State Department also imposed new economic sanctions on Wednesday on Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is in charge of the process against the former Brazilian president.
At the same time, the products covered by the 2020 United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (signed by Trump in his first term in office) will be exempt from the tariff, the White House announced.
But the president said yesterday that he would increase tariffs on certain Canadian products from 25 to 35 percent starting this Friday.
Canada has not cooperated to curb the continued flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs, the executive mansion considered.
Meanwhile, Mexico will have a 90-day pause.
The day before, during a telephone call, Trump and his counterpart from Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, reached an understanding. The term will seek to build a long-term agreement through dialogue, Sheinbaum stressed.
In Trump's view, the taxes will reverse the trade deficit with respect to the United States; however, experts fear that they will translate into more inflation and even an economic recession. In fact, the president admitted to a painful transition period for Americans.
And be warned, there are already challenges in the courts. They question the legality of the powers used by the occupant of the Oval Office to decide on taxes. (Text and photo: PL)
