The U.S. set July 9 as the deadline, and 12 countries that have not signed the agreement will face a 50% tariff.

Excluding China! US Issues Ultimatum

On Sunday local time, US Treasury Secretary Biden publicly stated that the time remaining until the set July 9 deadline is limited, and several major agreements are close to being reached. However, if the 12 or so countries that received the letters fail to reach an agreement, their exported goods will be subject to tariffs as high as 50% starting August 1.

This was also acknowledged by US Commerce Secretary Rutenberg, but there is a three-week buffer period between July 9 and August 1. Does this imply some room for maneuver? The US side has not yet disclosed any information.

From the current published results, only the UK has signed a limited framework agreement, and Vietnam has only a verbal outline of the agreement without signing it. Even the United States' most reliable allies, Japan, South Korea, and the European Union, have not signed at the first instance.

For example, Japan has already held seven rounds of ministerial-level trade negotiations and is preparing for the eighth round. Trump still refuses to lower car tariffs to zero because Japan does not import a large amount of American cars. Instead, many Japanese cars are dumped into the US market, affecting the development of related industries.

Therefore, giving them an additional three weeks for negotiations is very necessary!

It is worth noting that the US has repeatedly called for the rapid conclusion of trade agreements, but has not mentioned China. In recent times, the US has even lifted restrictions on China, including lifting the export restrictions on ethane, the export restrictions on chip software design exports to China, and the export restrictions on engines.

This indicates that the main purpose of the US is to force other countries and regions to sign agreements. However, for China, the US is not in a hurry to sign an agreement, and hopes to achieve a friendly cooperative agreement through communication.

Because the US has learned from previous trade wars that China cannot be defeated, and neither the US nor the global community can do without China. Therefore, to achieve deep cooperation, the US has not mentioned trade negotiations with China. Perhaps it can obtain an invitation to the military parade on September 3, which will help restore Trump's political prestige.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1836942587218944/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.