Trump tariff rates unlikely to change: US trade adviser
Trump, who has wielded tariffs as a tool of American economic might, has set tariff rates for dozens of economies including the European Union at between 10 and 41 percent come Aug. 7, his new hard deadline for the duties.
In a pre-taped interview broadcast Sunday on CBS's "Face the Nation," US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said "the coming days" are not likely to see changes in the tariff rates.
"A lot of these are set rates pursuant to deals. Some of these deals are announced, some are not, others depend on the level of the trade deficit or surplus we may have with the country," Greer said.
"These tariff rates are pretty much set." Undoubtedly some trade ministers "want to talk more and see how they can work in a different way with the United States," he added.
But "we're seeing truly the contours of the president's tariff plan right now with these rates." Last Thursday, the former real estate developer announced hiked tariff rates on dozens of US trade partners.
They will kick in on Aug. 7 instead of Aug. 1, which had previously been touted as a hard deadline.
Among the countries facing steep new levies is Brazil. South America's largest economy is being hit with 50 percent tariffs on exports to the United States -- albeit with significant exemptions for key products such as aircraft and orange juice.
Trump has openly admitted he is punishing Brazil for prosecuting his political ally Jair Bolsonaro, the ex-president accused of plotting a coup in a bid to cling to power. The US president has described the case as a "witch hunt." Greer said it was not unusual for Trump to use tariff tools for geopolitical purposes.
"The president has seen in Brazil, like he's seen in other countries, a misuse of law, a misuse of democracy," Greer told CBS. "It is normal to use these tools for geopolitical issues." Trump was "elected to assess the foreign affairs situation ... and take appropriate action," he added.
Meanwhile White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said that while talks are expected to continue over the next week with some US trade partners, he concurred with Greer's tariffs assessment in that the bulk of the rates "are more or less locked in." Asked by the host of NBC's Sunday talk show "Meet the Press with Kristen Welker" if Trump could change tariff rates should financial markets react negatively, Hassett said: "I would rule it out, because these are the final deals." Legal challenges have been filed against some of Trump's tariffs arguing he overstepped his authority.
An appeals court panel on Thursday appeared skeptical of the government's arguments, though the case may be ultimately decided at the Supreme Court.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Korea Herald
35 minutes ago
- Korea Herald
'Nvidia, AMD to pay 15% of China chip sale revenues to US'
Nvidia and AMD have agreed to give the US government 15 percent of revenue from sales to China of advanced computer chips like Nvidia's H20 that are used for artificial intelligence applications, a US official told Reuters on Sunday. US President Donald Trump's administration halted sales of H20 chips to China in April, but Nvidia last month announced the US said that it would allow the company to resume sales and it hoped to start deliveries soon. Another US official said on Friday that the Commerce Department had begun issuing licenses for the sale of H20 chips to China. When asked if Nvidia had agreed to pay 15 percent of revenues to the US, a Nvidia spokesperson said in a statement, "We follow rules the US government sets for our participation in worldwide markets." The spokesperson added: "While we haven't shipped H20 to China for months, we hope export control rules will let America compete in China and worldwide." AMD did not respond to a request for comment on the news, which was first reported by the Financial Times earlier on Sunday. The US Department of Commerce did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China's Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China represents a significant market for both companies. Nvidia generated $17 billion in revenue from China in the fiscal year ending Jan. 26, representing 13 percent of total sales. AMD reported $6.2 billion in China revenue for 2024, accounting for 24 percent of total revenue. The Financial Times said the chipmakers agreed to the arrangement as a condition for obtaining the export licences for their semiconductors, including AMD's MI308 chips. The report said the Trump administration had yet to determine how to use the money. 'It's wild,' said Geoff Gertz, a senior fellow at Center for New American Security, an independent think tank in Washington. 'Either selling H20 chips to China is a national security risk, in which case we shouldn't be doing it to begin with, or it's not a national security risk, in which case, why are we putting this extra penalty on the sale?" US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said last month the planned resumption of sales of the AI chips was part of US negotiations with China to get rare earths and described the H20 as Nvidia's "fourth-best chip" in an interview with CNBC. Lutnick said it was in US interests to have Chinese companies using American technology, even if the most advanced was prohibited from export, so they continued to use an American "tech stack." The US official said the Trump administration did not feel the sale of H20 and equivalent chips was compromising US national security. The official did not know when the agreement would be implemented or exactly how, but said the administration would be in compliance with the law. Alasdair Phillips-Robins, who served as an adviser at the Commerce Department during former President Joe Biden's administration, criticized the move. 'If this reporting is accurate, it suggests the administration is trading away national security protections for revenue for the Treasury," Phillips-Robins said. (Reuters)
Korea Herald
3 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Trump vows to evict homeless from Washington, official says National Guard may be deployed
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- US President Donald Trump pledged on Sunday to evict homeless people from the nation's capital and jail criminals, despite Washington's mayor arguing there is no current spike in crime. While details of the plan were unclear, the administration is preparing to deploy hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington, a US official told Reuters, a controversial tactic Trump used recently in Los Angeles to tackle immigration protests over the objections of local officials. Trump has not made a final decision, the official said, adding that the number of troops and their role are still being determined. Unlike in California and every other state, where the governor typically decides when to activate Guard troops, the president directly controls the National Guard in Washington. Past instances of the Guard's deployment in the city include in response to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters. "The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. "We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital. The Criminals, you don't have to move out. We're going to put you in jail where you belong." The White House declined to explain what legal authority Trump would use to evict people from Washington. The Republican president controls only federal land and buildings in the city. Trump plans to hold a press conference early in the week to "stop violent crime in Washington." It was not clear whether he would announce more details of his eviction plan then. There are 3,782 single persons experiencing homelessness on any given night in the city of about 700,000, says the Community Partnership, an organization working to reduce homelessness in Washington. Most such individuals are in emergency shelters or transitional housing, rather than on the street, it says. A White House official said on Friday more federal law enforcement officers were being deployed in the city following a violent attack on a young administration staffer that angered the president. Alleged crimes investigated by federal agents on Friday night included "multiple persons carrying a pistol without license," motorists driving on suspended licenses and dirt bike riding, a White House official said on Sunday. The official said 450 federal law enforcement officers were deployed across the city on Saturday. The city's police department says violent crime was down 26 percent in Washington in the first seven months of 2025, compared with last year, while overall crime was down about 7 percent. The Democratic mayor of Washington, Muriel Bowser, said on Sunday the capital was "not experiencing a crime spike." "It is true that we had a terrible spike in crime in 2023, but this is not 2023," Bowser said on MSNBC's the Weekend. "We have spent over the last two years driving down violent crime in this city, driving it down to a 30-year low." Bowser said Trump was "very aware" of the city's work with federal law enforcement after meeting him several weeks ago in the Oval Office. The US Congress has control of Washington's budget after the district was established in 1790 with land from neighboring Virginia and Maryland, but resident voters elect a mayor and city council. For Trump to take over the city, it is likely that Congress would have to pass a law revoking the law that established local elected leadership.
Korea Herald
3 hours ago
- Korea Herald
European leaders rally behind Ukraine ahead of Trump-Putin meeting
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — European nations have rallied behind Ukraine, saying peace in the war-torn nation can't be resolved without Kyiv, ahead of an upcoming meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin in Alaska. Trump said next Friday's meeting with his Russian counterpart on US soil would focus on ending the war, now in its fourth year. In response, Zelenskyy thanked European allies in a post on X, writing Sunday: 'The end of the war must be fair, and I am grateful to everyone who stands with Ukraine and our people." Saturday's statement by top European leaders came after the White House confirmed the U.S president was willing to grant Putin the one-on-one meeting Russia has long pushed for, and suggestions from Trump that a peace deal could include 'some swapping of territories." That raised fears that Kyiv may be pressured into giving up land or accepting other curbs on its sovereignty. A White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as they aren't allowed to speak publicly, told The Associated Press that Trump remained open to a trilateral summit with both the Russian and Ukrainian leaders, but for now, he will have a bilateral meeting requested by Putin. In an interview with Fox News taped on Thursday but aired on Sunday, US Vice President JD Vance said Trump had got Putin to agree to meet with Zelenskyy and it was now only a matter of scheduling before a meeting would take place. The Kremlin has previously said that Putin and Zelenskyy should meet only when an agreement negotiated by their delegations is close. A request to the White House for clarification has not immediately been answered. Trump previously said he would meet with Putin regardless of whether the Russian leader agreed to meet with Zelenskyy. The Trump-Putin meeting may prove pivotal in a war that began when Russia invaded its western neighbor and has led to tens of thousands of deaths, although there's no guarantee it will stop the fighting since Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart on their conditions for peace. Saturday's statement, signed by the president of the European Union and leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Finland and the UK, stressed the need for a 'just and lasting peace' for Kyiv, including 'robust and credible' security guarantees. 'Ukraine has the freedom of choice over its own destiny. Meaningful negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or reduction of hostilities,' the statement said. 'The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine. We remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be changed by force,' the Europeans added. The European statement follows a meeting between Vance and top European and Ukrainian officials at the British Foreign Secretary's weekend residence to discuss how to end the war. US Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, told NBC's 'Meet the Press' on Sunday that a good deal would mean preventing an emboldened Russia, and aggressors elsewhere, from trying to once again redraw borders by force. A Trump ally and Russia hawk, Graham nevertheless said that 'you can't end a war without talking.' 'I do hope that Zelenskyy can be part of the process. I have every confidence in the world that (President Trump) is going to go to meet Putin from a position of strength, that he's going to look out for Europe and Ukrainian needs to end this war honorably,' he said. He argued that 'Ukraine is not going to evict every Russian' soldier, but said the West should give Kyiv robust security guarantees, keep some of its forces on the ground 'as trip wires,' and keep arming Ukraine 'so that Russia will be deterred by the most lethal army on the continent of Europe.' A month-long US-led push to achieve a truce in Ukraine has so far proved fruitless, with Kyiv agreeing in principle while the Kremlin has held out for terms more to its liking. Trump also moved up an ultimatum to impose additional sanctions on Russia and introduce secondary tariffs targeting countries that buy Russian oil if the Kremlin did not move toward a settlement. The deadline was Friday. The White House did not answer questions Saturday about possible sanctions. The Kremlin earlier this week reiterated demands that Ukraine give up territory, abandon its bid to join NATO, and accept limits on its military, in exchange for a withdrawal of Russian troops from the rest of the country. Particularly galling for Kyiv is Moscow's insistence that it cede pockets of eastern and southern Ukraine the Kremlin claims to have annexed, despite lacking full military control. Mark Galeotti, a British expert in Russian politics who heads the Mayak Intelligence consultancy, says Moscow's tactic of encircling towns in eastern Ukraine has brought a string of territorial gains for Russia, and Putin 'does not appear to feel under pressure." For the Kremlin, 'further delaying any more serious US action and the optics of a meeting with the US president will already be wins," Galeotti argued in an analysis published Sunday by the UK's Sunday Times newspaper. Zelenskyy said Saturday that Ukraine 'will not give Russia any awards for what it has done' and that 'Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier.' Ukrainian officials previously told the AP privately that Kyiv would be amenable to a peace deal that would de facto recognize Ukraine's inability to regain lost territories militarily. But Zelenskyy on Saturday insisted that formally ceding land was out of the question. Galeotti argued that any deal that involves Ukraine abandoning territory would be 'agonising" and politically dangerous for Zelenskyy. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Sunday that European leaders are 'intensively preparing' ahead of the Alaska summit, while they 'hope and expect' that Zelenskyy will be invited. Merz told Germany's public broadcaster ARD that he has for weeks been encouraging Washington to toughen sanctions against Russia, adding that 'Putin only acts under pressure.' Mikhail Kasyanov, Putin's first prime minister and later a political opponent, similarly told the BBC Sunday that the Kremlin would be more willing to negotiate seriously and make some concessions when sanctions have further strained Russia's economy. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Sunday praised Washington for taking steps such as allowing more military equipment to flow to Ukraine and imposing secondary sanctions on India for purchasing Russian oil, saying Trump 'clearly is putting pressure on Putin.' 'Next Friday will be important because it will be about testing Putin — how serious he is — on bringing this terrible war to an end,' Rutte said in an interview with ABC's 'This Week.'
