President Trump's mutual tariffs could well go beyond matching import taxes imposed on US goods by other countries, the Treasury Department Scott Bescent said Tuesday.
In an interview, Bescent said the Trump administration will consider policies such as currency manipulation, industrial subsidies and working conditions when calculating the country's new tariff rates.
“We're going to go to them and say, 'Look, it's where I think there's a tariff level,' non-tariff barriers, currency manipulation, unfair funds, labor control, and if you don't stop this, we won't stop the tariff wall.”
If the country does not change these policies, he continues, “We will then set up tariff walls to protect the economy, protect workers, and protect the industry.”
Trump has been pledging for weeks to impose “mutual tariffs” on other countries in response to import taxes and other trade barriers imposed on US goods. The tariffs are scheduled to be imposed on April 2, but Trump delayed and adjusted many of his recent import tax decisions.
The broader range of policies targeted by Trump's upcoming tariffs could give the president and administration more leverage than trade partners who could face challenges to adapt to Trump's demands. And no matter what the country is doing with its own import tax rate, there is room to adjust or maintain tariffs on Trump.
“If the country “does not follow President Trump's lead,” he raises the tariff barrier and, as he said in the video, we will look to Trump's comments in favor of tariffs and try to earn a significant amount of income.”
Bescent added that Trump had previously imposed tariffs on metals in Canada, Mexico, China, the European Union and foreign countries.
Customs duties are taxes levied on foreign goods paid by people or businesses that import products into their home country. In the United States, tariffs are collected by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from US-based importers.
