President Donald Trump on Easter Sunday posted about a ‘non-tariff cheating’ list, warning trade partners of non-tariff-related offenses that could spoil relations with the United States. The 8-point list included currency manipulation, export subsidies, counterfeiting, and transshipping.
Trump’s post comes days after he announced a 90-day pause in reciprocal tariffs for most trade partners, except China. On Thursday, the 78-year-old said that his officials are in talks with China on tariffs, and he is confident that a deal will be reached.
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“Yeah, we’re talking to China. I would say they have reached out a number of times,” he told reporters at the Oval Office.
Non-tariff related offenses, according to Trump’s post, include: Currency manipulation, VATs, ‘which act as tariffs and export subsidies’, dumping below cost, export subsidies, and other government subsidies, protective agricultural standards, protective technical standards, counterfeiting, piracy, and IP theft, and transshipping to evade tariffs.
Trump has previously accused countries of artificially devaluing their currencies to make exports cheaper and US goods more expensive. He has also warned about Value-Added Taxes (VATs) that are levied on imports but rebated on exports in many countries, which Trump claims act as a hidden tariff and export boost.
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In 2018, he had claimed that Japan was using a ‘bowling ball test’ to cheat American auto companies out of selling cars to Japanese consumers. He made the same claim on Sunday. Back then, the White House spokeswoman said he was joking.
“It’s the bowling ball test. They take a bowling ball from 20 feet up in the air and drop it on the hood of the car,” Trump said of Japan, according to audio obtained by The Washington Post.
“If the hood dents, the car doesn’t qualify. It’s horrible,” he told donors at an event in Missouri.
