Superstitious Trump: US President only wants to introduce EU tariffs on April 2nd

Merkur Superstitious Trump: US President only wants to introduce EU tariffs on April 2nd Simon Schröder • 5 hours • 3 minutes reading time April, April The EU must be wary of at least four planned measures by the Trump administration. The US President wants to start the tariffs on a specific date. Washington, D.C. - Latin America, the neighbor to the north, China - all are to be subject to tariffs. That is at least what US President Donald Trump has been announcing since his re-election. The EU also has to fear US tariffs on imported goods. So far, Trump has only implemented import tariffs of 10 percent against China. In addition, tariffs on all aluminum and steel imports are to be introduced from March 12th. And on April 2nd, new tariffs are to be imposed on the EU. Trump is superstitious - and postpones the start of the tariffs by one day The tariffs were actually supposed to be implemented on April 1st, as Trump explained at the first cabinet meeting since his government was formed. "But I'm a little superstitious, I made it April 2nd," the US president explained to the press. He probably wants to prevent the tariffs from being perceived as an April Fool's joke - after all, he is serious about their implementation. In total, four tariff threats could slow down the EU economy. Firstly, all EU imports are to be subject to an import tariff of 25 percent. In addition, there is to be a tariff on all automobile imports, which would burden the German economy in particular. Thirdly, the import tariff on all steel and aluminum products affects EU exports and fourthly, Trump announced that he would respond to EU tariffs on US imports with his own tariffs. Why is Trump demanding tariffs? Damage to the US economy due to tariff policy It is unclear what exactly Trump wants to achieve with the import tariffs. Most economists actually agree. Tariffs also damage the US economy. Trump imposed tariffs in 2018 during his first term in the White House. The damage to the US economy at the time amounted to around seven billion US dollars, according to Foreign Policy. While sectors such as the US steel industry may benefit from tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, it is very likely that other manufacturers will feel the tariffs in their own country. Foreign Policy goes on to write that these tariffs will, in turn, probably have an inflationary effect. And that should not actually be in the interest of the Trump administration. Confusion about Trump's tariffs after first cabinet meeting On Wednesday, Trump was asked about the punitive tariffs against Canada and Mexico at a cabinet meeting and caused confusion. These were due to come into force on April 2, Trump explained. The new date would have meant a further delay. When asked by a journalist, however, Trump did not confirm this clearly. Now he took to the keyboard at Truth Social to make it clear that no further delay was planned so far. Trump regularly uses tariff threats as a negotiating tactic to force concessions. He again mentioned April 2nd as the date for mutual tariffs on goods from various countries. It remained unclear whether the tariffs would come into force on that date or would be announced. Trump recently signed an order according to which tariffs would be raised wherever the USA currently charges less than its trading partners. He has threatened the European Union with tariffs of 25 percent. (sischr/dpa)