Washington: President Donald Trump defended his sweeping new tariffs on Monday, saying they’ll bring in “hundreds of billions” and help reduce the national debt. “We’re going to pay down debt. We have a lot of money coming in — more than the country’s ever seen,” Trump told reporters, calling the move long overdue.
Referencing his first term, Trump said he initially imposed tariffs on China but couldn’t expand the policy due to the pandemic. “We should’ve done this many years ago,” he said, now aiming for reciprocal tariffs wherever possible. “I’m not looking for leverage. I’m looking for fairness,” he added.
Just six months into his return to the White House, Trump has once again upended the global trade order. On April 2, citing a 1977 law, he declared America’s trade deficit a national emergency and announced steep new import taxes — up to 50% for countries running surpluses with the US, and a 10% baseline for others. After a global backlash, he paused the reciprocal tariffs for 90 days to allow negotiations. Some nations yielded. Others faced harsher penalties.
In his latest move, hours before an August 1 deadline, Trump signed a new executive order raising tariffs on 69 countries. Rates include 41% on Syria, 35% on Canada, 50% on Brazil, 25% on India, and 39% on Switzerland. Pakistan, meanwhile, saw its tariff reduced from 29% to 19%.