U.S. President Donald Trump has announced the imposition of 'reciprocal tariffs,' and countries expected to be subject to these tariffs are being discussed.
Economic media outlet MarketWatch reported on the 9th (local time) that reciprocal tariffs are included in the policy recommendation book 'Project 2025,' published last year by the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation during the U.S. presidential election.
Peter Navarro, President Trump's 'trade strategist' and White House trade and manufacturing advisor, participated as a contributor to Project 2025.
Advisor Navarro stated that if the U.S. Reciprocal Trade Act (USRTA), proposed during the first term of the Trump administration in 2019, is enacted, priority should be given to deciding which countries to negotiate with first. He identified eight countries as targets, described as 'countries with relatively large trade deficits with the U.S. and that impose relatively high tariffs on the U.S.'
China and India were named as the top priority 'red zone' countries, while the EU, Thailand, Taiwan, and Vietnam were placed in the second priority 'yellow zone.' Japan and Malaysia were ranked third. South Korea, a country with a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the U.S., was not mentioned.
The USRTA is a bill that allows the U.S. president to negotiate with countries imposing high 'nonreciprocal' tariffs, and if the counterpart country does not lower tariffs to U.S. levels, the U.S. can raise tariffs to the counterpart country's level.
President Trump urged Congress to pass the USRTA in 2019. In June 2023, before the presidential election, he reiterated his support for the USRTA. At that time, he said, "If India, China, or other countries impose 100% or 200% tariffs on U.S. products, we will impose exactly the same tariffs. In other words, 100% is 100%," adding, "An eye for an eye, a tariff for a tariff, exactly the same amount."
According to the Project 2025 report, the U.S. trade deficit in goods and services by major countries for fiscal year 2022 showed China with the largest deficit at $338.1 billion. Following were the European Union (EU), Mexico, Vietnam, Canada, Japan, Ireland, Taiwan, and Thailand, with South Korea ranking 10th at $35.6 billion.
On the afternoon of the same day, President Trump announced aboard Air Force One en route to New Orleans, Louisiana, to watch the NFL Super Bowl final, that a 25% tariff would be imposed on steel and aluminum starting from the 10th. He also stated that reciprocal tariffs would be announced on the 11th or 12th and that the imposition of reciprocal tariffs would take effect "almost immediately."
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