Trump unveils roadmap for US reciprocal tariffs

US President Donald Trump has unveiled a roadmap for charging reciprocal tariffs on every country that puts duties on US imports.

"We want a level playing field," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, discussing the measures.

The tariffs were not going into effect on Thursday but could begin to be imposed within weeks as Trump's trade and economic team study bilateral tariff and trade relationships, a White House official told reporters on a conference call.

"I have decided for purposes of fairness that I will charge a reciprocal tariff meaning whatever countries charge the United States of America, we will charge them. No more, no less," Trump said.

"In other words, they charge us a tax or tariff, we charge them the exact same tax or tariff," he said.

Howard Lutnick, Trump's pick for Commerce secretary, said the administration would address each affected country one by one.

He said the administration's studies on the issue would be completed by April 1.

Trump, who campaigned on a pledge to bring down consumer prices, said prices could go up in the short term as a result of the moves.

"Tariffs are great," he said.

The White House official, who spoke to reporters before Trump's event in the Oval Office, said the administration would examine what it called the most "egregious" issues first, including countries with the biggest trade surpluses and highest tariff rates.

Trump's reciprocal tariffs would match the higher duty rates charged by other countries, he said.

They also would aim to counteract non-tariff trade barriers such as burdensome regulations, value-added taxes, government subsidies and exchange rate policies that can erect barriers to the flow of US products to foreign markets.

The effort also aims to launch negotiations with some countries to reduce these barriers.

The announcement appeared designed at least in part to trigger talks with other countries.

The official said Trump would gladly lower tariffs if other countries lowered theirs.

"So the president is more than happy to lower tariffs if countries want to lower tariffs. But let's also recognise that tariffs, higher tariffs, are not the biggest part of the problem in many, if not most cases," the official said.

Targets include China, Japan, South Korea and the European Union.

The tariffs would avoid a "one size fits all" approach for more customised levies, he said, though he did not rule out a flat global tariff.

The official said a lack of US reciprocal tariffs had contributed to a large and persistent US trade deficit.

Trump, who took office on January 20, has already announced tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports beginning on March 12, imposed 10 per cent tariffs on goods from China and imposed a 30-day hold on tariffs on goods from neighbouring Canada and Mexico.

Trade experts say structuring the reciprocal tariffs that Trump wants poses big challenges for his team, which may explain why the latest duties were not announced earlier in the week.

Damon Pike, a trade specialist and principal with the US division of accounting firm BDO International, said the reciprocal tariffs that Trump envisioned would result in a monumental undertaking, given that each of the 186 members of the World Customs Organisation had different duty rates.

"At the international level, there'a something like 5000 different descriptions at the 6-digit (product subheading) level, so 5000 times 186 nations. It's almost an artificial intelligence project," he said.

with DPA and AP