The president of the United States, Donald Trump, launched an investigation into the need for tariffs on critical minerals, the last movement in a commercial war in escalation that has signed up for key sectors of the global economy, according to Bloomberg.
The order, signed by Trump on Tuesday, asks the Secretary of Commerce to initiate an investigation under Section 232 of the Commercial Expansion Law of 1962 to “evaluate the impact of imports of these materials on the security and resilience of America”, according to an informative document of the White House.
If the secretary concludes that critical imports can “harm national security and the president decides to impose tariffs,” these would replace Trump’s reciprocal taxes to US business partners this month.
Market reaction
At the time of publication, the US dollar index was falling 0.12% in the day, standing at 100.05.
FAQS tariffs
Although tariffs and taxes generate government income to finance public goods and services, they have several distinctions. Tariffs are paid in advance in the entrance port, while taxes are paid at the time of purchase. Taxes are imposed on individual taxpayers and companies, while tariffs are paid by importers.
There are two schools of thought among economists regarding the use of tariffs. While some argue that tariffs are necessary to protect national industries and address commercial imbalances, others see them as a harmful tool that could potentially increase long -term prices and bring to a harmful commercial war by promoting reciprocal tariffs.
During the election campaign for the presidential elections of November 2024, Donald Trump made it clear that he intends to use tariffs to support the US economy. In 2024, Mexico, China and Canada represented 42% of the total US imports in this period, Mexico stood out as the main exporter with 466.6 billion dollars, according to the US Census Office, therefore, Trump wants to focus on these three nations by imposing tariffs. It also plans to use the income generated through tariffs to reduce personal income taxes.
Source: Fx Street
I am Joshua Winder, a senior-level journalist and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in covering news related to the stock market and economic trends. With more than 8 years of experience in this field, I have become an expert in financial reporting.
