Latest news with #WhiteHouseEconomicCouncil
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Kevin Hassett 'very, very confident' courts will back Trump's tariffs amid legal setback
White House Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett says he remains "very, very confident" that courts will support President Donald Trump's tariff agenda. Hassett made the statement during a Sunday morning appearance on ABC's "This Week," telling host George Stephanopoulos that the White House still expects "Plan A" to work out. "And so we're very thrilled. We are very confident that the judges would uphold this law. And so I think that that's Plan A, and we're very, very confident that Plan A is all we're ever going to need," Hassett said. "But if, for some reason, some judge were to say that it's not a national emergency when more Americans die from fentanyl than have ever died in all American wars combined, that's not an emergency that the president has authority over – if that ludicrous statement is made by a judge somewhere, then we'll have other alternatives that we can pursue as well to make sure that we make American trade fair again," he added. Twelve States Sue Trump Over Tariffs, Claiming They're 'Illegal' And Harmful To Us Economy Hassett's appearance comes after a federal court struck down Trump's tariffs in a ruling last week, only for an appeals court to issue a temporary stay protecting the tariffs during litigation. Read On The Fox News App The appeals court ruling paused a decision by the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT), thus allowing Trump to continue to enact the 10% baseline tariff and the so-called "reciprocal tariffs" that he announced April 2 under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA. The CIT had ruled unanimously to block the tariffs the day before. Federal Judge Blocks 5 Trump Tariff Executive Orders Members of the three-judge panel who were appointed by Trump, former President Barack Obama and former President Ronald Reagan, ruled unanimously that Trump had overstepped his authority under IEEPA. They noted that, as commander in chief, Trump does not have "unbounded authority" to impose tariffs under the emergency law. For now, the burden of proof shifts to the government, which must convince the court it will suffer "irreparable harm" if the injunction remains in place, a high legal standard the Trump administration must meet. Fox News' Breanne Deppisch contributed to this reportOriginal article source: Kevin Hassett 'very, very confident' courts will back Trump's tariffs amid legal setback
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
White House: US did not impose new tariffs on Russian imports due to peace talks
White House Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett has explained why the United States has not imposed new tariffs on imports from Russia. He has stated that the decision was made due to the ongoing peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. Source: Hassett in an interview with ABC News Details: Hassett explained that the decision not to include Russia on the list of countries facing new tariffs is connected to the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. According to him, the United States does not want to complicate the negotiations with additional trade issues, as this could negatively affect the process. "There's obviously an ongoing negotiation with Russia and Ukraine, and I think the president made the decision not to conflate the two issues," he said. "Russia is in the midst of negotiations over peace that affects, really, thousands and thousands of lives of people, and that's what President Trump is focused on right now," Hassett stated. "It doesn't mean that Russia, the fullest of time, is going to be treated wildly different than every other country, but Russia is one of the only countries, one of the few countries, that is not subject to these new tariffs, aren't they? They're in the middle of a negotiation," he explained. It is worth noting that the United States did impose new tariffs on Ukraine, which is also a participant in the peace talks. Background: On 2 April, US President Donald Trump officially announced the beginning of a trade war with all countries of the world, introducing tariffs ranging from 10% to 50% on imports to the United States, depending on the country of origin. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt stated that Russia had not been included in the tariff lists because US sanctions already "preclude any meaningful trade". However, the US still trades with Russia more than with some of the countries that were included in Trump's tariff list. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Times of Oman
07-04-2025
- Business
- Times of Oman
White House official says over 50 nations seeking new trade deals
Washington DC: Kevin Hassett, Director of the White House Economic Council, defended the impact of President Donald Trump's tariffs on Sunday (local time) and said that while many countries are upset and retaliating, the tariffs have led to over 50 countries reaching out to the US to begin new trade negotiations. Hassett made the remarks during an appearance on ABC News' "This Week" with George Stephanopoulos. "So, the fact is, the countries are angry and retaliating and, by the way, I got a report from the [US Trade Representative] last night that more than 50 countries have reached out to the president to begin a negotiation. But they are doing that because they understand that they bear a lot of the tariff. And so, I don't think that you are going to see a big effect on the consumer in the US because I do think that the reason why we have a persistent, long-run trade deficit is because these people have a very inelastic supply. They have been dumping goods into the country in order to create jobs, say, in China," Hassett told ABC News. On April 2, Trump announced a widespread imposition of tariffs on countries worldwide. In February, soon after taking charge for the second time, Trump outlined a new trade policy focused on fairness and reciprocity and said that the US would implement reciprocal tariffs, charging other countries the same tariffs they impose on American goods. Trump emphasised that tariffs would address unfair trade practices, including non-monetary barriers, subsidies, and VAT systems, while encouraging foreign countries to either reduce or eliminate tariffs against the US. As per the announcements, the import tariffs on other major countries are China (34 per cent), the European Union (20 per cent), Vietnam (46 per cent), Taiwan (32 per cent), Japan (24 per cent), India (26 per cent), the United Kingdom (10 per cent), Bangladesh (37 per cent), Pakistan (29 per cent), Sri Lanka (44 per cent), and Israel (17 per cent). From April 9 onwards, countries with the largest trade deficits with the US will face higher, individualised tariffs. India is one of the countries affected, with a 26 per cent tariff imposed on all its exports.
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Kevin Hassett doubles down on Trump tariffs, says dozens of countries are asking to negotiate
White House Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett doubled down on the effectiveness of President Donald Trump's tariffs on Sunday, saying dozens of countries are now seeking to open negotiations and U.S. manufacturing is booming. Hassett made the claim during an appearance on ABC News' "This Week" with host George Stephanopoulos. He said that over 50 countries have already said they want to negotiate new trade agreements with Trump's administration since the tariffs hit last week, though he acknowledged there may be short-term pain for consumers. He pointed to the decrease in prices that has existed since China entered the World Trade Organization in 2000, arguing that the loss of jobs outweighs the low prices. "If cheap goods were the answer, if cheap goods were going to make Americans' real wages better off, then real incomes would have gone up over that time. Instead, they went down because wages went down more than prices went down. So we got the cheap goods at the grocery store, but then we had fewer jobs," he said. Judge Orders Trump Administration To Return Man Maryland Mistakenly Deported To El Salvador Prison Hassett added that he has received "anecdotal word" that some U.S. auto plants are adding second shifts to their work schedules in response to the tariffs. Read On The Fox News App Jd Vance Torches Media, Dems' 'Disgraceful Set Of Priorities' On Deportation Of Accused Ms-13 Gang Member Stephanopoulos then pressed Hassett to explain why Russia wasn't targeted with any additional tariffs. "There's obviously an ongoing negotiation with Russia and Ukraine, and I think the president made the decision not to conflate the two issues. It doesn't mean that Russia in the fullness of time, is going to be treated wildly different than every other country," Hassett responded. "But Russia's one of the only countries, one of few countries that is not subject to these new tariffs, aren't they?" Stephanopoulos pressed. "They're in the middle of a negotiation, George, aren't they?" Hassett countered. "Would you literally advise that you go in and put a whole bunch of new things on the table in the middle of a negotiation that affects so many American and Ukrainian and Russian lives?" "Negotiators do that all the time," Stephanopoulos argued. "Russia is in the midst of negotiations over peace that affects really thousands and thousands of lives of people and that's what President Trump's focused on right now," Hassett article source: Kevin Hassett doubles down on Trump tariffs, says dozens of countries are asking to negotiate
Russia Today
06-04-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
White House provides reason for not putting tariffs on Russia
US President Donald Trump's administration has not imposed any tariffs on Russia in order not to jeopardize ongoing talks on settling the Ukraine conflict, White House Economic Council director Kevin Hassett has told ABC. On Tuesday, the US president introduced new dues ranging from 10% to 50% on imported goods from dozens of nations, including China, EU member states, and Japan. The move was part of a broader strategy to promote American industry and correct what Trump described as 'grossly unfair trade imbalances.' Russia, along with Belarus, Cuba, and North Korea, were absent from the list. When asked to explain why Moscow was left out, Hassett said, 'There's obviously an ongoing negotiation with Russia and Ukraine,' adding that the White House did not want to 'conflate the two issues.' Read more Trump says his tariff policies 'will never change' Pressed by ABC on whether it was the right thing to do, the economic council director maintained it would not be wise to 'put a whole bunch of new things on the table in the middle of a negotiation that affects so many American and Ukrainian and Russian lives.' Reporter George Stephanopoulos then claimed that negotiators 'do that all the time,' but Hasset responded by saying that it was 'not appropriate to throw a new thing into these negotiations right in the middle of it. It's just not.' Read more White House explains Russia's absence from tariff list Over the past few weeks, the Trump administration has been engaged in talks with Russia to end the Ukraine conflict. Both sides have described the process as productive, and US officials have hinted at a possible ceasefire in the foreseeable future. Moscow has repeatedly signaled it is open to a peaceful resolution as long as its interests and concerns are taken into account. Earlier this week, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent provided another explanation for Washington's decision not to include Russia in the tariff list, telling Fox News that America 'does not trade meaningfully' with Moscow, and that sanctions are already 'doing the work that tariffs would.' American imports from Russia fell to approximately $3 billion in 2024, down 34.2% from the previous year, according to US government data. The two nations are currently seeing a modest thaw in diplomatic contacts under the new Trump administration. Kirill Dmitriev, Russian President Vladimir Putin's special economic envoy and head of the country's sovereign wealth fund, visited Washington this week for closed-door meetings with administration officials and business leaders in the highest-level Russian visit to the US since the start of the Ukraine conflict.
