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Trump targets Brunei, Libya and Moldova with latest threat of US tariffs

Latest threats heighten fears that the president’s erratic trade strategy risks exacerbating inflation across the US

 

Pedestrians cross a street in Chisinau, Moldova, last year. Moldova is one of a new batch of countries Trump has targeted for tariffs. Photograph: Andrei Pungovschi/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Pedestrians cross a street in Chisinau, Moldova, last year. Moldova is one of a new batch of countries Trump has targeted for tariffs. Photograph: Andrei Pungovschi/Bloomberg via Getty Images

 

Donald Trump continued to fire off letters threatening steep US tariffs on foreign exports, targeting countries including Brunei, Liyya and Moldova.

The US president had been scheduled to hike tariffs on dozens of countries today. Earlier this week he announced a fresh three-week delay, to 1 August, but started announcing new rates that countries would face unless they strike a deal with the White House.

After announcing plans on Monday for US tariffs of up to 40% on goods imported from 14 countries, including Bangladesh, Japan and South Korea, Trump wrote to the leaders of a further six countries on Wednesday, and published each letter.

He claimed exporters in Algeria, Iraq, Libya and Sri Lanka would face a US tariff of 30%, while exporters in Brunei, Moldova and the Philippines would face a 25% tariff.

“These Tariffs may be modified, upward or downward, depending on our relationship with your Country,” Trump wrote. A string of delays and rate changes have frustrated businesses in the US and around the world.

On Tuesday, Trump vowed to introduce US tariffs of up to 200% on foreign drugs and 50% on copper, propelling US prices of the latter to record highs.

Trump’s latest threats have heightened fears that his erratic trade strategy risks exacerbating inflation across the US, having repeatedly pledged on the campaign trail to bring down prices rapidly.

Trump appears aware of this apprehension. “I brought down costs more than any President in recorded history,” he wrote on social media late on Tuesday. “The Crooked Democrats are using the opposite narrative, even though they know it is a total LIE.”

Author: Callum Jones in New York

Source: The Guardian

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