Donald Trump restores tariffs on metal imports from Brazil and Argentina as he hits out at countries who ‘take advantage of our strong dollar’
- President Donald Trump said he would restore tariffs on US steel and aluminum
- He announced via Twitter that imports from Brazil and Argentina face increases
- Trump urged Fed to stop countries from getting a boost by devaluing currencies
President Donald Trump said today that he will immediately restore tariffs on US steel and aluminum imports from Brazil and Argentina.
Trump also urged the Federal Reserve to prevent countries from gaining an economic advantage by devaluing their currencies.
‘Brazil and Argentina have been presiding over a massive devaluation of their currencies, which is not good for our farmers.
‘Therefore, effective immediately, I will restore the Tariffs on all Steel & Aluminum that is shipped into the US from those countries,’ Trump said in a tweet.
‘The Federal Reserve should likewise act so that countries, of which there are many, no longer take advantage of our strong dollar,’ Trump tweeted
‘Lower Rates & Loosen – Fed!’, he wrote.
President Donald Trump said in tweet on Monday that he will immediately restore tariffs on US steel and aluminum imports from Brazil and Argentina
Trump has repeatedly urged the Fed to lower rates to below zero, arguing that negative rates in Europe and elsewhere give those countries a competitive advantage.
However, Fed policymakers have been reluctant to take the unorthodox policy steps tried by other global central banks.
The US central bank’s policy-making committee holds its next meeting on December 10 to 11.
In response, Bolsonaro said today he could speak directly with President Trump after the US leader.
Bolsonaro, an avowed fan of Trump who has actively sought closer ties with the US president, said he would also discuss Trump’s declaration with Economy Minister Paulo Guedes.
Trump offered the US’s ‘full and complete support’ to President Bolsonaro in August after G7 countries criticized his response to climate change.
Bolsonaro has rejected proposed firefighting aid to tackle raging blazes in the Amazon, and demanded French President Macron retract his comments about the crisis.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro waiting for Chinese President Xi Jinping as he hosted a summit earlier this month
During the G7 summit Macron threatened to hit back at Brazil on trade and assembled a $20 million package to help fight raging Amazon forest fires.
Macron later fumed that Bolsonaro insulted the appearance of his wife, Brigitte, during the meeting in Biarritz.
In talking up Bolsonaro, Trump sided with a right-wing leader who has been severely criticized for not doing enough to stop the fires, many of which are deliberately set by ranchers seeking to clear land.
Trump’s statement that Bolsonaro was ‘working very hard’ on the fires, came after the president refused at a press conference to say whether he still doubts the science of climate change. His Brazilian counterpart is also a climate change skeptic.
On Saturday Hollywood actor, Leonardo DiCaprio, hit back at claims by President Bolsonaro that he helped fund groups allegedly linked to the Amazon rain forest fires.
Bolsonaro last week blamed the US actor for making donations to nonprofit organizations that he claims are behind some of the Amazon fires.