Trump seeks to close $1.6 trillion revenue gap with raft of new tariffs
This week the Trump Administration stepped up its ambitious effort to replace about $1.6 trillion in lost tariff revenue that was eliminated by the supreme court’s decision to strike down on the president’s import taxes. The White House was counting on recovering that lost revenue to help offset the steep multi-trillion dollar cost of its tax cuts. Experts say it is possible but challenging.
On Wednesday, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the administration will investigate 16 economies which include the European Union over whether their governments are subsidizing excessive factory capacity in such a way that disadvantages U.S. manufacturing. In addition he said there will be a second investigation of dozens of countries to see if their failure to ban goods made by forced labor amounts to an unfair trade practice that harms the United States.
Both of the investigations are being conducted under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act, which requires the administration to consult with the targeted countries. They will have a hearing as a part of the investigation on May 5th while the hearing of the forced labor investigation will occur April 28th, Holding these hearings will allow affected U.S. industries to comment.
Moments after the Supreme Court’s ruling, Trump imposed a 10% tariff on all imports under a separate legal authority, but that duty can only last for 150 days. The president also said that he would raise the tariff to 15% which is the maximum allowed but he has yet to do so. The administration is aiming to complete its section 301 investigations before the 10% duties expire.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/tariffs-trump-trade-275f146dbc591bab1730a911e04aa8ea
