President Trump Offers To Ease Reciprocal Tariffs For Some Countries
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that offers relief from the United States’ reciprocal tariffs to U.S. trading partners that strike deals on industrial exports such as nickel, gold, and other metals, along with pharmaceutical compounds and chemicals. (Read Connecting the Dots’ story outlining what the reciprocal tariffs are at this link.)
The order, which is available at this link, said the president “may be willing to apply only the Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) tariff upon the conclusion of any future reciprocal trade and security deal” to products that fall into four categories:
- Certain aircraft and aircraft parts;
- Certain generic pharmaceuticals and their ingredients;
- Unavailable natural resources and closely related derivative products; and
- Certain agricultural products not grown or produced in sufficient quantity in the United States to meet domestic demand.
To be eligible for MFN “a trading partner must conclude a deal with the United States that helps mitigate the national emergency relating to the trade deficit.” Additionally, the order said President Trump “will evaluate the extent of a trading partner’s commitments to address U.S. trade concerns.”
The order also makes some products that were exempt from the penalties now subject to them. Specifically:
- Bullion-related articles and certain critical minerals and pharmaceutical products subject to pending Section 232 investigations are not subject to the tariffs.
- Certain aluminum hydroxide, resin, and silicone products are now subject to the penalties.