Trump signs executive order on 'great' reciprocal tariffs

WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump laid out Thursday his plan for what he called "great" reciprocal tariffs on US trading partners that impose duties and other economic penalties on American exports.

Addressing reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said his action would seek to address VAT (value-added tax) taxes and non-monetary tariffs imposed by foreign countries on US goods, but said goods made in the US would be exempt. The new economic penalties, which Trump said are "fair to all" nations, would be imposed on top of other duties he has already rolled out since assuming office in January.

"I have decided, for purposes of fairness, that I will charge a reciprocal tariff, meaning whatever countries charge the United States of America, we will charge them. No more, no less," he said. "In other words, they charge us a tax or tariff, and we charge them the exact same tax or tariff. Very simple."

Trump claimed that nearly all US trading partners are "charging us vastly more than we charge them," saying that "those days are over." Trump said a provision of his order will cover subsidies granted by foreign nations to make their goods cheaper to American consumers.

Trump's plan sets the stage for nations to engage in negotiations with the US directly, or ramp up their economic penalties in what could start a spiraling series of trade wars across the globe that could exacerbate costs for consumers.

The president acknowledged that "prices could go up somewhat short-term," but maintained that he believes they "will also go down."

"I'll tell you, what will go up is jobs. The jobs will go up tremendously. We're going to have great jobs, jobs for everybody. This is something that should have been done many years ago," he said.