White House Restores Metals Tariffs in South America
President Donald Trump on Monday said he would restore tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum imports from Brazil and Argentina, which surprised officials in the two South American countries.
鈥淏razil and Argentina have been presiding over a massive devaluation of their currencies, which is not good for our farmers. Therefore, effective immediately, I will restore the Tariffs on all Steel & Aluminum that is shipped into the U.S. from those countries,鈥 Trump wrote.
Brazil鈥檚 President Jair Bolsonaro, an avowed Trump fan who has sought closer U.S. ties, said in a local radio interview that he would call his U.S. counterpart, who he was confident would listen to Brazil鈥檚 concerns.
鈥淭heir economy is not comparable with ours. It鈥檚 many times bigger. I don鈥檛 see this as retaliation,鈥 Bolsonaro said to Radio Itatiaia.
鈥淚鈥檓 going to call him so that he doesn鈥檛 penalize us 鈥 Our economy basically comes from commodities, it鈥檚 what we鈥檝e got. I hope that he understands 鈥nd I鈥檓 almost certain he鈥檒l listen to us,鈥 he said.
Dante Sica, who is Argentina鈥檚 production minister, said Trump鈥檚 announcement was 鈥渦nexpected鈥 and he was seeking talks with U.S. officials. Additionally, Argentina鈥檚 Foreign Ministry said it will begin negotiations with the U.S. State Department.
Trump鈥檚 tweet also urged the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates so countries 鈥渘o longer take advantage of our strong dollar.
Source: Reuters