Trump lingers on tariffs, but paves way for future trade measures

President Trump will not immediately impose tariffs on imported goods on Monday, but will issue an executive order directing federal agencies to begin studying a broad list of trade issues that could ultimately result in taxes on goods from China , Canada, Mexico and other countries. in the coming months.

The move suggests Mr Trump is taking a more measured approach to fulfilling a key campaign promise of using tariffs to revamp US trade relations. It will also delay — at least for now — simmering conflicts with foreign governments, which have promised to respond to Mr. Trump’s levies with tariffs of their own.

The topics Mr. Trump will direct his officials to investigate in an executive order Monday will be numerous, including trade deficits and trade deals signed with China, Canada and Mexico. This could increase the president’s ability to deploy tariffs on many targets for many different reasons, potentially disrupting international supply chains and sparking global trade wars in the weeks and months to come.

The executive order will direct federal agencies to examine unfair trade and currency practices and assess whether foreign governments have complied with the terms of the two trade agreements signed by Mr. Trump during his first presidency. This will also require the government to assess the feasibility of establishing an “External Revenue Service” to collect customs and customs duties.

Mr. Trump is also ordering a study of tariffs that the United States has imposed for national security reasons, as well as the use of a special trade exemption, called de minimis, which allows low-value goods to be exported. enter the United States duty-free. . This loophole allowed large volumes of Chinese goods to escape the tariffs Mr. Trump imposed on China during his first term. Details of the executive order were previously reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Even though Mr. Trump has decided to suspend the imposition of tariffs for the moment, his advisers say he remains more convinced than ever that they can be used wisely.