President Trump called for calm among Americans as China and the European Union imposed retaliatory tariffs, raising the risk of an escalation in the trade war.
“Stay calm. Everything will be fine. America will be stronger and better than ever,” US President Donald Trump wrote on the social network Truth Social on April 9.
Trump’s call to Americans came shortly after China and the European Union (EU) announced retaliatory tariffs. China announced that it would impose an 84% tariff on US imports starting April 10, while the EU began collecting a 25% tariff on a range of US imports starting April 15.
President Trump also urged companies around the world to start moving to the US to avoid tariffs, after the tariffs he imposed take effect.
“This is a great time to move your company to the US, like Apple and a record number of other companies are doing. No tariffs, no environmental concerns. Don’t wait, do it now,” he wrote.
President Trump believes that reciprocal tariffs will restore America’s lost manufacturing base by forcing foreign companies to locate in the country, rather than manufacturing elsewhere.
US President Donald Trump at Miami International Airport, Florida on April 3. Photo: AFP
Until now, pharmaceuticals have been exempt from tariffs. However, on April 8, Mr. Trump announced that he would soon announce a large tax on imported drugs to encourage pharmaceutical companies to move their operations to the United States.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at a conference of the American Bankers Association in Washington on April 9 also reassured about the Trump administration’s new tax policy.
“Despite the turmoil in the financial markets, the companies I’ve talked to, the executives, the people who have gone to the Treasury Department, they’ve told me the economy is very strong,” he said.
He said he would take on a lead negotiating role in the US tariff talks. The US secretary added that many countries were interested in negotiating with Washington on tariff reductions, noting that Mr Trump had spoken with the leaders of Japan and South Korea.
“I think we can eventually come to an agreement with allies who are good military allies but not perfect economic allies. Then we can work together with them to deal with China,” he said.
Mr Bessent said the reciprocal tariffs Mr Trump announced last week were a ceiling on tariffs if countries did not retaliate, but China had not done so.
China said it has filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the latest round of US tariff hikes, stressing that the latest tariffs were announced under Mr Trump’s escalating trade war strategy.
China’s Ministry of Finance also announced that it would impose an 84% tariff on US goods from April 10, up from the previously announced 34%.
“The US’s increase in tariffs on China is simply a mistake on top of a mistake and seriously infringes on Beijing’s legitimate rights and interests,” China’s Ministry of Finance said in announcing the retaliatory tariffs.
The EU said it could suspend its retaliatory tariffs “at any time” if the US agreed to a fair outcome in negotiations between the two sides. “The EU considers the US tariffs to be unjustified and to cause economic harm to both sides and to the global economy,” the European Commission said.
