Donald Trump has held off on imposing tariffs on his first day in office, betting big that his actions will lower energy prices and curb inflation. But it’s unclear whether his orders will be enough to get the U.S. economy moving as he promised.
As a candidate, President Trump promised to impose tariffs of 10% to 20% on all imported goods, and up to 60% on imports from China. He also threatened to impose a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico if they did not crack down on the flow of illegal drugs and immigrants entering the country illegally.
Those threats did not materialize on Monday, his first day in office, but experts warn that doesn’t mean they’re gone.
President Trump announced the creation of the Foreign Revenue Service “to collect all duties, fees, and revenues.” “It will be a lot of money from foreign sources,” he said in his inaugural address.
“While President Trump today chose not to impose sudden tariffs that could be reversed through negotiation, the Trump administration’s and Republican’s tariff revenue goals remain unchanged under the threat of tariffs,” said Rachel Zimba, an economic and political risk expert. This suggests that it still exists.” He told Al Jazeera.
President Trump is expected to sign an executive order prioritizing a review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, including starting a review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, but the lack of tariffs on Monday means that “some of his team… (Including the Treasury Secretary who nominated Scott) have suggested to me that Mr. Bessent and his congressional advisers would rather have him phase in the tariffs, rather than announce them and negotiate them out. We may have succeeded in getting them to consider their strategy,” Ziemba said.
Regarding China, the Trump team is expected to focus on the 2020 agreement from President Trump’s last term, under which China would buy large quantities of U.S. resources to close the trade deficit between the two countries. However, that promise could not be fulfilled. .
“The current focus on these purchases signals that the U.S. may be open to these purchases and investment targets, while also buying time before more aggressive tariffs,” Ziemba said. said.
This not only gives President Trump more bargaining power in the future, but also concerns about market pressures and the rapid imposition of broad tariffs that could lead to inflation, hurt U.S. economic interests, and erode long-term tariff revenues. Ziemba added that it also incorporates concerns that the government may
“Drill, baby, drill”
Increasing U.S. oil and natural gas production was another big theme Monday, with President Trump saying: I’m going to declare a national energy emergency.
“America will be a manufacturing nation again. We have something that no other manufacturing nation has, the most oil and gas of any country on earth,” Trump said at the inauguration. I plan to take advantage of it.” Speech at the U.S. Capitol. “We train, baby, we train.”
Former President Joe Biden entered the White House in 2021 promising to divest the United States from fossil fuels, but as drillers chased higher prices in the wake of sanctions on Russia after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, oil and gas production reached record levels under his watch. .
Trump also said the United States would “re-fill our strategic stockpile to its full capacity” and export energy around the world. Biden had sold more than 180 million barrels of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), a record amount. The sale helped keep gasoline prices in check after Russia launched a war against Ukraine, but the SPR fell to its lowest level in 40 years.
During his first administration, President Trump promised to fill the SPR to help domestic oil companies struggling with reduced demand amid the pandemic. The promise was not fulfilled.
President Trump also said Monday that the United States would repeal what he called an electric vehicle (EV) mandate, which he said would save the U.S. auto industry.
Although Biden does not have a mandate to force people to buy electric cars, his policies aim to encourage Americans to buy them and encourage car companies to shift from gas-powered vehicles to electric vehicles.
“The common theme is to really unlock affordable and reliable American energy,” an anonymous Trump official was quoted as saying by Reuters. “Because energy permeates every part of our economy, it is also key to restoring national security and extending America’s energy advantage around the world.”
President Trump said the United States is in an artificial intelligence arms race with China and other countries, and the artificial intelligence industry’s voracious power needs have become a national priority.
U.S. data center power demand could nearly triple over the next three years, consuming 12% of the nation’s electricity as artificial intelligence and other technologies demand it, the Energy Department predicted.
The first Trump administration considered using emergency powers under the Federal Power Act to carry out its promise to bail out the coal industry, but that was not done.
Now, President Trump could use emergency powers to ease environmental regulations for power plants, accelerate construction of new power plants, ease permitting for power transmission projects, and free up federal land for new data centers. There is sex.
President Trump is also expected to sign new orders aimed at exploiting Alaska’s natural resources. The condition is The region is a contentious region of the country regarding energy and the environment, and Republicans have long seen opportunities for oil and gas production there, while Democrats have sought to preserve the pristine land.