U.S. President Donald Trump said he may allow individual exceptions to the 10% tariff for most trading partners, although he considers the rate the minimum for countries seeking to negotiate with Washington, Bloomberg reported Saturday.
“There may be some exceptions for obvious reasons, but I would say 10% is the minimum,” Trump told reporters Friday aboard Air Force One en route to Florida. He did not specify what the reasons were, nor did he announce any new fare changes.
The announcement came after fare increases for dozens of countries announced in the week. Some were later postponed due to negative market reactions. China was hit with duties of 145%, while a prime rate of 10% has so far been applied to most nations.
“Despite this, the average duty rate in the U.S. could reach historic highs. Beijing, in response to Washington’s actions, raised tariffs on US goods to 125%. China said it will not respond to further steps, but is preparing other measures,” the report said.
Trump said at the same time that “the market is stable” and the dollar will remain “the currency of choice”. He also expressed confidence that the trade standoff with China could end positively.
