US tariffs leave South African sugarcane growers with a bitter taste
Before President Donald Trump announced the sudden tariffs on the country’s imports, cheap sugar imports were already earning income at the sugar cane farm in Nkosinathi Msweli in South Africa.
Reuters
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump on Thursday unlocked new penalties for penalties for wide range of imports, saying that the US will be 100% liability on branded drugs and 25% liability on heavy-duty trucks starting next week, even among import duties.
Tariffs are a feature of Trump’s second term, with trading partner obligations 10% to 50%, and taxing on a wide range of products on other target tariffs, overshadowing the global economic outlook and numbing business decisions.
The new action is seen as part of the Trump administration’s shift towards more established legal authorities due to his tariff measures, given the risks associated with his lawsuit before the Supreme Court over the legality of his fundamental global tariffs.
Trump also said that in all new obligations that come into effect from October 1, he will begin charging 50% tariffs on kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanity and 30% tariffs on upholstered furniture.
“The reason for this is a massive ‘flood’ of these products by other countries,” Trump said, saying it is the true social social aspect of tariffs on household goods.
New 100% tariffs on branded or patented drugs apply to all imports, unless the company has already been infringed on the basis of the construction of a manufacturing plant in the United States, Trump said.
The Trump administration has opened 12 probes on the national security impact of wind turbines, planes, semiconductors, copper, timber, timber and materials imports to form the basis for new tariffs.
This week, Trump unveiled new probes for personal protective equipment, medical supplies, robotics and industrial machinery.
Important foreign policy tools
Trump made taxation an important foreign policy tool, and used them to renegotiate trade transactions, extract concessions, and put political pressure on other countries.
The Trump administration has touted tariffs as a major source of revenue. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington could collect $300 billion by the end of the year.
Trump previously imposed national security tariffs on steel, aluminum and derivatives, light vehicles and parts, and copper.
The Trump administration’s trade includes transactions with Japan, the EU and the UK, and includes provisions that curb tariffs on certain products, such as automobiles, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.
Trump said the tariffs on the new heavy-duty trucks are to protect manufacturers from “unfair external competition,” and the move would benefit companies such as Paccar-owned PCAR.O Peterbilt and Kenworth and Daimler Truck-owned DTGGE.DE Freightliner.
American drug research and manufacturers have opposed new drug tariffs, saying that the $85.6 billion ingredient used in drugs consumed in the US earlier this year was 53% worth of its $85.6 billion produced in the US from Europe and other US allies.
The US Chamber of Commerce has previously urged the department not to impose tariffs on new trucks, noting that the top five import sources are Mexico, Canada, Japan, Germany and Finland.
Mexico is the largest exporter of medium and heavy-duty trucks to the United States. A survey released in January shows that imports of these heavy vehicles from Mexico have tripled since 2019.
In August, Trump had pledged to impose new furniture tariffs, saying that he would “return the furniture business back to South Carolina (and Michigan).”
Government statistics show that manufacturing employment for furniture and timber products in the United States has been halved to about 340,000 since 2000.
The US imported approximately $25.5 billion in furniture in 2024, up 7% from 2023, with about 60% of these imports coming from Vietnam and China.
Fear is heavily attached to possible inflation
Higher duties on commercial vehicles could put pressure on transportation costs, as Trump vowed to reduce inflation, particularly to reduce consumer goods such as food.
The tariffs could also affect Chrysler and his parent Stellantis stlam.mi, who produces heavy-duty ram trucks and commercial vans in Mexico. Volvo Group Volvb.st in Sweden is building a $700 million heavy truck factory in Monterrey, Mexico, to begin operations in 2026.
According to the US International Trade Agency, Mexico has 14 manufacturers and two manufacturers: bus, truck, tractor truck and engine.
The country is also a global global exporter of tractor trucks, 95% of which is aimed at the US.
“Truck drivers need to be economically healthy and strong for many reasons, but most of all for national security!” Trump added.
Mexico opposed the new tariffs, saying that all Mexican trucks exported to the US in May have an average of 50% US content, including diesel engines.
Last year, the US imported nearly $128 billion in heavy vehicle parts from Mexico, accounting for around 28% of the total US imports, Mexico said.
The Japanese Auto Manufacturers Association also opposed new tariffs, which say Japanese companies have cut exports to the US as they boosted production of the US and large trucks.
(Reporting by Ismail Shakil, David Shepardson and David Lawder, edited by Caitlin Webber and Lincoln Feast.)
