Trump to Correct ‘Extremely Regrettable’ Error in Tariffs

“The Trump administration has agreed to correct an ‘extremely regrettable’ blunder in the execution of its trade agreement with Japan, the country’s top trade negotiator said in Washington on Thursday,” the New York Times reports.

“In negotiations last month, Japanese officials believed they had secured a deal that, in return for pledges to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the United States and open its market to more American goods, would set a standard tariff rate of 15 percent for all of its products shipped to the United States.”

“In a July 31 executive order, the Trump administration outlined a similar scheme for the European Union. But Japan, along with other trade partners, was issued a new tariff rate that would be ‘stacked’ on top of existing ones. In Japan’s case, that raised tariffs on items such as its beef exports to the United States from 26.4 percent to 41.4 percent.”