The U.S. is continuing to hold discussions with trading partners seeking to eliminate or mitigate the U.S.’ “reciprocal” tariffs, though there are still few details yet available.
Earlier this month President Trump said that since the reciprocal tariffs were announced many foreign trading partners had approached the U.S. “to address the lack of trade reciprocity in our economic relationships and our resulting national and economic security concerns.” In response, the U.S. suspended those 11-50 percent tariffs through July 9 but in the meantime is subjecting imports from all countries but China to an additional 10 percent tariff.
According to press reports, Trump and senior administration officials have said in recent days that they have been negotiating with numerous countries, though the exact number has varied. It is unclear what form those negotiations have taken, what is being discussed, and who has been involved. Trump has specifically said tariff negotiations are underway with China but Beijing has denied that claim.
The only official word from the administration has come from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, which first said earlier this month that it had finalized the terms of reference for negotiating a bilateral trade agreement with India. It increasingly appears the U.S. is pursuing a similar approach with other countries, with officials first working to conclude frameworks for what will then be more detailed negotiations. There is some speculation that announcements of those frameworks could be accompanied by the lowering of reciprocal tariffs.
Most recently USTR reported discussions with Korea and Vietnam. The agency said that on April 25 USTR Jamieson Greer and Korean trade minister Ahn Dukgeun “agreed on the importance of achieving expedient and meaningful progress toward reciprocal and balanced trade” and “discussed next steps … and instructed their teams to engage in technical discussions” the following week. Similar language was used to describe Greer’s meeting the previous day with Vietnamese trade minister Nguyen Hong Dien while specifying that future talks will focus on expanding market access and addressing unfair trade practices.
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