US President Donald Trump on Monday vowed to embrace trade wars, pledging to impose tariffs and taxes on other countries.
Trump made the pledge in a nationalistic inaugural address after being sworn in as the 47th president.
“I will immediately begin the overhaul of our trade system to protect American workers and families. Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich other countries, we will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens,” Trump said.
Media Talk Africa reports that since his election victory in November, the 78-year-old has targeted both allies and adversaries, raising the prospect of fresh tariffs to pressure other countries into taking tougher action on US concerns.
Prior to his second term return to the White House, the Republican had vowed to impose 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports, as well as an additional 10% on Chinese goods, if those countries failed to address issues such as illegal immigration and the flow of fentanyl into the United States.
While on the campaign trail, Trump also floated the idea of imposing much steeper tariff rates on Chinese imports.
However, he stopped short on Monday of announcing new tariffs, which are applied to imported goods when a US buyer purchases them from abroad.
He also emphasised plans to establish an External Revenue Service to collect tariffs, duties, and revenues, alongside a Department of Government Efficiency aimed at reducing federal spending.
