Tag: Tariff

Greg Baker/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images WASHINGTON — The United States and the European Union are preparing to impose tit-for-tat tariffs on each other’s products, the latest escalation in a 14-year fight over government aid given to Boeing and European rival Airbus. “The World Trade Organization finds that the European Union subsidies to Airbus has adversely impacted the United States, which will now put Tariffs on $11 Billion of E.U. It will soon stop!” The United States Trade Representative said on Monday night that it was preparing a list of European products to tax as retaliation for European subsidies to Airbus, which the World Trade Organization ruled were illegal in May 2018. The announcement of new tariffs stems from a dispute that began in 2004 related to government subsidies that Europe provides to Airbus, which is a rival to America’s Boeing. The United States requested the authority to impose retaliatory tariffs of $11.2 billion per year, and the two sides are awaiting a decision on the level of tariffs that the United States will be authorized to levy on the European Union. ends these harmful subsidies, the additional U.S. duties imposed in response can be lifted.” The European Commission indicated on Tuesday that it considers the $11 billion in retaliatory measures to be overblown and not justified by any findings by the World Trade Organization. In a statement, Boeing said it supported the United States Trade Representative and hoped that the draft tariff list would encourage the European Union “to comply with past W.T.O. However, they also have been quick to publicize the organization’s decisions when it finds in their favor. In its statement Monday, the Trump administration emphasized that its latest measures against the European Union would comply with the rules of the World Trade Organization. In a separate announcement Tuesday, the U.S. Trade Representative said the W.T.O.

A South Carolina plant that assembles televisions using Chinese parts plans to shut down and lay off nearly all its employees because of new tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration, the company announced this week. Element Electronics — which describes itself as the only assembler of televisions in the U.S. — plans to lay off 126 of its 134 permanent full-time employees and close the Winnsboro, S.C. plant on Oct. 5. Notably, there are still at least two smaller companies that continue to assemble speciality televisions in the U.S. “The layoff and closure is a result of the new tariffs that were recently and unexpectedly imposed on many goods imported from China, including the key television components used in our assembly operations in Winnsboro,” Carl Kennedy, Element’s vice president of human resources, said in a letter to the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce on Monday. President Donald Trump often lamented on the campaign trail that the United States “doesn’t make television sets anymore.” At the time, it was already true that there were no U.S. factories making televisions from scratch — just a few that assembled televisions using imported parts. But with the closure of Element’s plant, the United States will no longer assemble mass-market television sets anymore, either. South Carolina Gov. “And we don’t want to hurt it by any tariff or any tax or any regulation or anything else, so we are fighting with all we can, all that’s possible to be done, to see that these tariffs and proposed tariffs do not, in the end, hurt South Carolina.” McMaster defended Trump, and said he has spoken with both the President and Vice President about implementing an exemption for Element Electronics. It’s a difficult time. The President is right that there are countries out there that have been treating trade from the United States unevenly,” McMaster said. What we want to do is be sure that the fix doesn’t hurt South Carolina.” Meanwhile, James Smith, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee running against McMaster in November, said he spent the day in Winnsboro discussing the loss of jobs “due to job-killing tariffs.” “These tariffs are not helping anyone in our state who are hurting from the loss of these jobs and many to come,” Smith said at a press conference on Wednesday, calling on McMaster to “tell this President when he’s doing what’s wrong for the people of our state.”

First Up: This week, the U.S. agriculture department announced a $12 billion plan to help farmers hurt by President Donald Trump's trade disputes. MPR's Mark Zdechlik checked in with several people about the tariffs and their impact on Minnesota: MPR Reporter Mark Steil, Agri-Pulse senior editor Philip Brasher, and U.S. Senator Tina Smith. Then: We turned to Minnesota's 1st Congressional District, where there's an open seat after Tim Walz decided to run for governor. On the Republican side, Jim Hagedorn and state Sen. Carla Nelson will square off in the Aug. 14 primary. The winner will take on DFL-endorsed Dan Feehan in November. Later: The Aug. 14 primary elections are just over two weeks away. We checked in with two county elections officials about early and absentee voting. Finally: MPR Reporter Brian Bakst joined the program for a look back at the rest of the week's political news. Click the audio player above to listen to the conversation.

President Donald Trump will meet at the White House with a group of 13 farm-state Republican senators and representatives to talk about trade. "We just opened up Europe for you farmers," Trump told backers in Iowa before traveling to a reopened steel plant in Illinois to say that tariffs on steel and aluminum are leading to revivals of those industries. Farmers, however, have criticized Trump tariffs affecting their products, and Republicans are concerned that a depression of agriculture votes could cost the GOP control of Congress in November. They say that Chinese retaliatory tariffs in particular are hurting prices for soybeans, pork and other agricultural products. China and European countries have retaliated with their own tariffs on U.S. products, Trump acknowledged, and farmers in particular are saying that the penalties are hurting sales. More: Trump says US, EU reach agreement to work toward 'zero tariffs' More: Trump says 'vicious' China targeting U.S. farmers on trade, urges critics to 'be cool' Republicans and others have told Trump that the tariff wars are starting to hurt business people, including farmers and other key sources of votes in the November congressional elections. They could also hurt Republicans at the ballot box, no small thing as the GOP faces the possible loss of House and Senate majorities in the November elections. Trump visited Iowa and Illinois a day after proclaiming new talks with European Union officials about eliminating all trade barriers between the U.S. and Europe. He also said officials would try to "resolve" existing steel and aluminum tariffs, as well as "retaliatory tariffs" in general. "If this farm aid is real and gets delivered, there may not be an issue at all," she said.

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—In the latest salvo in its escalating trade war with the United States, China has slapped all tanning beds slated for export to the U.S. with a two-thousand-per-cent tariff. By artificially hiking up the cost of its tanning beds, China succeeded in sending the price of tanning beds worldwide soaring in overnight markets. In what some experts regarded as a related move, China also placed a four-thousand-per-cent tariff on all spray-tan products headed for the U.S., as well as instant-tanning lotions, makeup foundation, and several popular hues of orange paint, including butter rum and burnt sienna. The White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, blasted China’s tariffs on its full range of tanning products, calling the move an “act of war.” “What China doesn’t understand is that it is far from the only player in the tanning game,” Sanders said. “The United States stands ready and willing to import tanning beds from our friends in Canada.” In Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded to reporters’ questions about the prospect of Canada shipping tanning beds to the United States. “It doesn’t look good,” he said.

He has criticized Canada’s trade polices as “unfair” and dismissed its dairy policy as “a disgrace”. The White House was burned by British troops in 1814 as part of a failed invasion of the mid-Atlantic, more than 50 years before the signing of Canada’s confederation paved the way for the founding of modern-day Canada. Canada was a major battleground during the conflict – known as the war of 1812 – which played a significant part in the creation of the Canadian national identity. The conflict was provoked by a decade of British provocations against the US, including impressing American sailors, imposing restrictions on American trade and providing support for Native American attacks on frontier settlements. Trump’s comments come at a time of increased tensions between the US and Canada, shortly before the US president unilaterally announced increased tariffs without congressional approval, citing national security needs. The border between the US and Canada has been demilitarized for two centuries. Trump’s justification for the new duties has provoked outrage from Canadians. Trudeau calls Trump's tariffs 'insulting' to longstanding US-Canada alliance Read more Trudeau said in an interview with NBC on Sunday: “One of the things that I have to admit I’m having a lot of trouble getting around is the idea that this entire thing is coming about because the president and the administration have decided that Canada and Canadian steel and aluminum is a national security threat to the United States.” Trudeau also noted the long history of military and diplomatic partnership between the countries. “Our soldiers had fought and died together on the beaches of world war two and the mountains of Afghanistan and have stood shoulder to shoulder in some of the most difficult places in the world, that are always there for each other, somehow – this is insulting to that,” said Trudeau. “The idea that the Canadian steel that’s in military vehicles in the United States, the Canadian aluminum that makes your fighter jets is somehow now a threat.” Trump travels to Canada on Friday for the G7 summit in Quebec.

Could be bad: The Republicans could very well suffer in future elections if (or when!) Trump’s recent decision on tariffs turns out to hurt economies in several key states, Will Saletan writes. No chaos: Liberals love to read stories about the Trump White House’s total confusion, and this past week they had many of them to enjoy. But Ben Mathis-Lilley has seen all this before. Chance to waste: North Korea’s apparent willingness to talk about its nuclear weapons is a good sign, Fred Kaplan writes. But now we have to trust the Trump administration to handle the talks just right. New level: The Bachelor’s finale, which aired on Monday night, was fiendishly cruel and compelling, Willa Paskin hates to admit. The show figured out whole new ways to milk the sadness and embarrassment of the competition’s losers. For fun: A very joyful person named Ibba experienced one very fun A Wrinkle in Time screening. Sounds great, Rebecca

White House officials fanned out on Sunday to support Donald Trump’s planned imposition of tariffs on aluminium and steel imports, describing it as a national security issue. Amid international consternation, and with British prime minister Theresa May expressing “deep concern”, critics said the move was a needless provocation of allies and enemies alike. A senior Chinese official said the tariffs could “damage bilateral relations and bring about consequences that neither country wants to see”. Peter Navarro, director of the White House National Trade Council, confirmed that China was the focus of Trump’s surprise decision, announced at the White House this week. It was also condemned by World Trade Organisation (WTO) and US allies including Canada and South Korea, which between them account for a quarter of US steel imports. We can’t have a country that can defend itself and prosper without an aluminium and steel industry.” Navarro denied that Trump was considering withdrawing from the WTO although he said the body was “a lot of the problem” and needed to change with the times. He added: “I don’t know why anybody should be so shocked.” But he tempered his comments, saying: “Everybody talks about tariffs as the first thing. Tariffs are a part of the negotiation. Trump trade tariffs: Europe threatens US bikes, bourbon and bluejeans Read more Among Democrats, the Connecticut senator Chris Murphy warned against starting a trade war with China when the the US needs support to resolve North Korea’s nuclear ambition. Cabinet Office minister David Lidington told the BBC: “the United States is not taking an advisable course” and added: “Trade wars don’t do anybody any good.” The decision has also inflamed rifts within the White House.

Ohio voter who switched from Democrat to Republican to vote for Trump says the president is doing exactly what he said he would do. FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour all-encompassing news service dedicated to delivering breaking news as…

MSNBC reports that the White House is preparing to replace National-Security Adviser H.R. McMaster “as early as next month.” The Senate Intelligence Committee found that Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee leaked private text messages between the Senate panel’s top Democrat, Mark Warner, and a Russian-connected lawyer, according to a New York Times report. President Vladimir Putin said Russia has developed highly advanced nuclear weapons he claims are impossible to intercept. Equifax said hackers were able to access the personal information of 2.4 million Americans during a summer security breach, more than previously reported. Today on The Atlantic Politics vs. the People: In the wake of the Parkland shooting, conservatives have retained political power. So why do they still feel vulnerable? (Peter Beinart) What’s the Biggest Threat to Dems in 2018? : Republicans are successfully selling their tax cuts to voters. (Ronald Brownstein) ‘Built Into the Very Bones of This Place’: Jesmyn Ward reflects on raising her children in her home state of Mississippi, where the forces that Martin Luther King Jr. fought against persist. The Meltdown Over Steel Tariffs: For a few months, it seemed like the White House had finally regained its footing.