Jamieson Greer: Trump announces trade envoy after threatening new tariffs
A tariff is a domestic tax levied on goods as they enter the country, proportional to the value of the import.
The charge is physically paid by the domestic company that imports the goods, not the foreign company that exports them. In that sense, it is a straightforward tax paid by domestic US firms to the US government.
Earlier this week, Trump vowed to impose new tariffs on goods from China, Canada and Mexico – America’s top three trade partners.
He said he would introduce 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada and “an additional 10% tariff, above any additional tariffs” on imports from China.
The three countries responded by saying the pledge could upend their economies, as well as that of the US.
Although analysts have suggested that Trump’s tariff threats could prove to be a negotiating tactic, some businesses told the BBC that they were already having economic consequences as they started to stockpile goods and shift supply chains.
With Greer and other names added, Trump’s top team is now largely in place.
On Tuesday, he also unveiled leading Covid lockdown sceptic Jay Bhattacharya to be the next director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
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