President Trump defends tariff policy, promises $2,000 "dividend"

VTV.vn - President Trump also said the administration will fulfill his recent promise to send the American people $2,000 "dividend" payments from tariff revenue.

Los Angeles Cargo Port, California, USA. Photo: AFP/TTXVN

Shortly after signing an executive order to roll back some reciprocal tariffs first announced in April, US President Donald Trump said he did not think further tariffs needed to be lifted, but he acknowledged that Americans were paying higher prices for items like coffee.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on November 14 about lifting more tariffs, Mr. Trump said he did not think it was necessary. He said the government had just made a small rollback on some food items, such as coffee, because prices were a little high. He added that prices would soon come down.

Earlier in the day, President Trump signed an executive order exempting a range of imported food products, including beef, tomatoes, coffee and bananas, from “reciprocal tariffs” that were widely applied to almost every country and territory earlier this year.

The White House said the order is part of a broader effort by President Trump and senior officials to address growing concerns among Americans about persistently high food prices. The new exemption, which takes effect retroactively at midnight on November 13, marks a sharp reversal from President Trump, who has long maintained that his import tariffs do not fuel inflation.

When pressed on his earlier claim that his tariffs would not raise consumer prices for months, Trump responded that he had said prices “could” go up, defending his tariff policies. He asserted that the greatest tool the United States has right now is tariffs, and he has used them correctly for many years.

President Trump also said the administration would follow through on his recent promise to send Americans $2,000 “dividends” from tariff revenue. However, he said it would not happen this year, but sometime next year. He explained that it was a large sum of money, but the government was already making a lot of money from tariffs, and that revenue allowed them to pay a “dividend” to the people. Trump had previously announced the policy proposal in a brief message on social media last weekend. But the message did not specify who would be eligible for the payments or how they would be implemented.

Also on November 14, President Donald Trump said China would buy soybeans and other agricultural products from the United States, revealing that the United States and China had held talks on the issue on November 14, but he did not specify which representatives of the two governments participated in the talks. Mr. Trump said that this purchase is being carried out by the Chinese side and will take place before spring.

Source: https://vtv.vn/tong-thong-trump-bao-ve-chinh-sach-thue-quan-hen-chia-co-tuc-2000-usd-100251115110348605.htm