President Donald Trump of the United States defended his strict tariff policy during his first speech of his second term in front of a joint session of Congress. He reiterated that the US has been subject to high tariffs from a number of nations, including India.
“Under the Trump administration, you will be subject to a tariff, sometimes a hefty one, if you don’t manufacture your goods in the United States. During his speech, Trump declared, “It’s our time to begin using tariffs against those other countries that have been using them against us for decades.”
“It’s unfair.”
Trump named several nations, including India, that he claimed imposed “tremendous” taxes on the US. “Have you heard of the European Union, China, Brazil, India, Mexico, and Canada on average? Additionally, Trump said that many other countries impose tariffs on us that are far higher than ours.
“It’s unfair,” he continued.
During the speech, Trump specifically mentioned India, saying, “India charges us auto tariffs higher than 100 percent.”
He said, “South Korea’s average tariff is four times higher than ours, and China’s average tariff on our products is twice what we charge them.”
In order to avoid “April Fools Day,” Trump declared that the United States would begin enforcing reciprocal tariffs on a number of countries on April 2 rather than April 1.
“I intended to make it April 1st on April 2nd, but I didn’t want it to be mistaken for April Fools’ Day because it’s a big sum of money. Reciprocal tariffs begin on April 2nd; if they impose tariffs on us, we will impose tariffs on them in return. If they impose non-monetary tariffs to keep us out of their market, we will impose non-monetary barriers to keep them out of ours,” Trump stated in his speech.
Trump’s supporters in the House gave him a resounding standing ovation as he announced retaliatory tariffs.
The statements follow the U.S.’s decision on Tuesday to impose harsh 25 percent tariffs on its neighbors and two of its largest trading partners, Canada and Mexico. Citing China’s alleged involvement in the production of fentanyl, the US also increased duties on Chinese goods on Tuesday, going from 10% to 20%.
