Trump's tariff ultimatum forces country to promise to buy more American goods

Daily Mail​

10 hours ago

Taiwan has promised to buy more American goods after Trump threatened the island nation with a 32 percent tariff.
Taiwan's president Lai Ching-te said last month that the country would buy more American natural gas and oil, weapons and agricultural goods.
The self-governing island is looking to form closer ties with the US as it faces rising pressure from China, which has threatened to annex Taiwan by force if necessary.
Lai said Taiwan's promises would help create 'more balanced bilateral trade' as well as boost its energy autonomy and resilience.
Lai also told the US congressional delegation he was hosting that Taiwan would support America's efforts to reindustrialize and lead the world in AI.
Taiwan had a trade deficit of $116.3 billion with the US last year, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
As a result Trump proposed a 32 percent tariff against the island, which is currently on hold except for a 10 percent baseline duty, while negotiations take place.
It comes as Taiwan's exports jumped 87.4 percent to $15.5 billion in May, as companies fired off shipments before tariffs hit. Both figures are a record, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement on Monday.
Taiwan enjoys bipartisan support from the US, which sees providing Taipei with the means to defend itself against China as being in America's interest.
Many politicians have argued that as well as arming Taiwan, close economic and trade ties with the US leave the island less vulnerable to economic coercion from Beijing.
Taiwan's semiconductor giant TSMC recently invested $165 billion into building advanced chip factories in Arizona.
The US is now the number one country for Taiwan's foreign investment and the island is the seventh largest importer of American agricultural goods.
Trump first unveiled his 'reciprocal tariffs' on April 2, so-called 'liberation day.'
The aggressive policies sent stocks sliding and caused a crisis in the bond market.
Trump then backed down, bringing tariffs for most countries down to 10 percent while trade negotiations took place.
The President then put the EU in his sights, threatening the bloc with a 50 percent tariff.
He has since also put that threat on ice until July 9, and has said negotiations are going in a 'positive' direction.
It comes as Trump declared a trade deal between the US and China 'done' on Wednesday.
He said new rare earth minerals would be coming into the US from its top trade competitor.
'Our deal with China is done, subject to final approval with President Xi and me,' Trump posted on his social media site Truth Social on Wednesday morning.
'Full magnets, and any necessary rare earths, will be supplied, up front, by China.'
Consumers are already beginning to feel the pinch from tariffs, with prices rising from grocery shelves to new cars.
Toyota is the latest car manufacturer to warn that its popular products are about to become more expensive.
Mark Templin, Toyota's chief operating officer for North America, said the company is planning price hikes in response to Trump's 25 percent tariff on imported vehicles and parts.
Walmart has also confirmed that it will have to raise prices as a direct result of Trump's tariffs.
The grocery giant — which imports 60 percent of its goods from China — said it is passing along the 'unprecedented' costs of Trump's trade war on to consumers.