Washington:
US President Donald Trump on Monday said he will reimpose punitive tariffs on import of steel and aluminum from Argentina and Brazil, accusing the two countries of devaluing their currencies.
“Brazil and Argentina have been presiding over a massive devaluation of their currencies”, which is not good for farmers,” Trump said.
“Therefore, effective immediately, I will restore the Tariffs on all Steel & Aluminum that is shipped into the US from those countries.”
He said the Federal Reserve Board should likewise act so that countries, of which there are many, no longer take advantage of America’s strong dollar by further devaluing their currencies.
“This makes it very hard for our manufactures and farmers to fairly export their goods. Lower Rates & Loosen Fed!,” he tweeted.
Later, Trump defended his imposition of tariffs on import of steel and aluminum from Brazil and Argentina. “Well, Brazil has really discounted — if you take a look at what’s happened with their currency, they’ve devalued their currency very substantially by 10 per cent. Argentina also,” he alleged.
“And I gave them a big break on tariffs but now I’m taking that break off because it’s very unfair to our manufacturers and very unfair to our farmers. Our steel companies will be very happy, and our farmers will be very happy, Trump asserted.
