WASHINGTON, February 18. /TASS/. The principle of reciprocity in US trade with other countries implies retaliatory measures against countries that do not merely set duties on US products but also employ non-tariff measures of trade regulation, President Donald Trump said on the X social network.
"On trade, I have decided, for purposes of fairness, that I will charge a reciprocal tariff, meaning whatever countries charge the United States of America, we will charge them - No more, no less! For purposes of this United States Policy, we will consider countries that use the VAT System, which is far more punitive than a tariff, to be similar to that of a tariff," Trump said.
"Sending merchandise, product, or anything by any other name through another country, for purposes of unfairly harming America, will not be accepted," the US President continued. "In addition, we will make provision for subsidies provided by countries in order to take economic advantage of the United States. Likewise, provisions will be made for nonmonetary tariffs and trade barriers that some countries charge in order to keep our product out of their domain or, if they do not even let US businesses operate," he added.