On the 9th, US President Donald Trump announced that starting from August 1st, all copper imported into the United States would be subject to a 50% tariff. Prior to this, Trump had already sent letters of tariffs to over 20 countries, clearly setting the tariff rates for certain imported goods from these countries. Recently, several professionals including the Chairman of the German Automobile Industry Association, Müller, the Director of the Kiel Institute for Economic Research in Germany, Schulach, and the Chairman of the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade, Lange, have expressed their views.
One important objective of the US tariff policy is to compensate for its fiscal deficit.
Given that the so-called “big and beautiful” tax and spending bill will significantly increase the US fiscal deficit, the Trump administration has had no choice but to seek new sources of revenue. Professionals also mentioned that if the EU-US trade negotiations fail,
the EU might consider taking countermeasures against the annual service trade deficit with the US, such as imposing digital taxes on American companies.
