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The Trump administration on Tuesday loaned billions of dollars in new aid to appease farmers and offset any economic impact of its trade wars, even though the president praised his growing list of tariffs as "the biggest" . The plan targeted soybean, pork and other producers who were hit by retaliatory tariffs imposed by US trading partners such as China, according to people familiar with the proposal.
Assistance of up to $ 12 billion will be available to farmers in part through the New Deal-Commodity Credit Corporation, which has the power to lend money to farmers or to assist farmers. buy their crops in case of economic emergency.
Earlier, Trump had taken to Twitter to declare that: "The tariffs are the best! Either a country that has treated unfairly the United States on trade negotiates a fair deal, or it is hit by tariffs "
" It's as simple as that – and everyone is talking about! Remember, we're the "piggy bank" that's stolen. Everything will be great! "
The appeal of Mr. Trump came as he faces growing criticism from the American business community, farmers and pro-trade Republicans in Congress about the economic consequences of his tariffs . He also arrived on the eve of an EU visit to Washington, Jean-Claude Juncker, for talks aimed at defusing the escalating transatlantic trade tensions.
Sign of the administration's concerns with regard to domestic criticism, the president this week started the road in Missouri and Illinois to try to sell his tariff plan and a strategy broader aimed at undoing decades of trade imbalances the heart of manufacturing the United States.
Any easing of Trump's support in conservative agricultural countries, which was crucial for his victory in 2016, could create problems for Republicans in Congress in the November mid-term elections
. notion that its tariffs are part of a great trading strategy. The United States has already imposed new import taxes on aluminum and steel from around the world and some $ 34 billion worth of goods from China. The president has threatened to expand these imports to 350 billion dollars of imports of cars and spare parts and to 500 billion dollars of trade with China.
A big test of this negotiating strategy will come Wednesday when European Commission President Juncker will travel to Washington for talks dominated by EU efforts to convince Trump not to apply its car rates.
Before the trip, Cecilia Malmstrom, EU Trade Commissioner, said that she and Juncker "would try to defuse the situation" and would highlight areas where the EU and the US could work together, example to address the global overcapacity by China.
million. Juncker should spend an hour with Mr Trump at a meeting that will include a 15-minute private discussion without their assistants – just as the US president did with Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin.
desperately want to avoid the prospect of auto rates, they do not expect the meeting to result in an announcement. They consider rather that it is an opportunity to directly present their case to Mr. Trump, especially since Mr. Trump seems to rely less on his advisers than his oval predecessors.
One of the difficulties faced by European officials is the presence of US officials responsible for addressing the issue of trade imbalances – including US Representative Robert Lighthizer, Trade Secretary Wilbur Ross, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Larry Kudlow, who is the main economic adviser to the White House – presented different points of view with their counterparts in Europe.
The only idea on which the United States agreed was Mr. Trump's suggestion to the G7 in Canada regarding the elimination of tariff and trade barriers in all sectors. But Europeans doubt that Mr Trump can get congressional approval for such a measure – even if the EU can be persuaded to follow this path.
On the European side, there are also differences of opinion on how to treat the United States with trade. France, in particular, argued that the EU should stress in Washington that she was not willing to do business in the face of threats. However, Germany is pushing for a lighter approach, in part because its carmakers have a lot to lose if Trump charges tariffs on auto imports.
Up to now, Mr. Trump has not been able to conclude meaningful trade negotiations, and many of his efforts have failed in the face of resistance from his trading partners.
Negotiations on the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico progressed slowly and were suspended for Mexico's elections this month. Discussions with Beijing to avoid a trade war also failed, as the world's two largest economies opted for titration rates. Similarly, the EU has refused to engage in meaningful talks as the United States imposes new tariffs, saying it amounts to negotiating with a rifle in the head.
Part of the problem was Mr. Trump's bellicose approach to the negotiations. But some analysts believe that the president, as he said in his tweets Tuesday, is also becoming more comfortable with the use of tariffs to rewrite US trade relations .
"Everything is clear: Trump wants either big unilateral concessions from trading partners or he wants big tariffs," said Edward Alden, a senior member of the Council on Foreign Relations. is consistent about this by saying to trading partners: "Either you are going to offer us these big concessions or we will use tariffs as our rebalancing strategy". "
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