US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday (local time) that he is planning to impose tariffs of over 10 per cent on goods from smaller countries, including nations in Africa and the Caribbean, news agency AP reported. “We’ll probably set one tariff for all of them,” Trump told reporters, explaining that the rate could be “a little over 10 percent” on imports from at least 100 countries.Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick clarified that the countries affected would be primarily in Africa and the Caribbean. He further added that these regions generally have low levels of trade with the United States and would not significantly help Trump’s broader goal of reducing America’s overall trade deficit.Earlier this month, the president sent notices to around two dozen countries and the European Union announcing new tariff rates that will take effect on August 1. These new rates are generally similar to the import taxes announced on April 2, which were among the highest in recent US history. The initial announcement caused concern in financial markets, leading the administration to set a 90-day period for negotiations that ended on July 9.Trump also said he would “probably” announce new tariffs on pharmaceutical drugs by the end of the month. He explained that these tariffs would start at a lower rate, giving companies one year to build factories in the United States before facing higher import taxes. He said computer chips would also face similar tariffs. Earlier, Trump had announced a trade agreement with Indonesia significantly reducing tariffs on Indonesian exports to 19% and granting full market access to American goods.
