President Trump’s newly announced tariffs will impact America’s top trading partners, including some with additional punitive levies, raising costs for consumers and businesses in American Samoa and across the U.S. KHJ News Washington D.C. correspondent Matt Kaye reports…
The highly anticipated new tariffs include a 10 percent duty on all goods imported to the U.S., as well as extra levies on some 60 nations with the highest trade barriers.
Among the affected countries are top trading partners such as China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Canada and Mexico have already faced 25-percent U.S. tariffs, including on steel, aluminum, and automobiles. Food, agricultural products, electronics, and building supplies will also be impacted.
President Trump told lawmakers, reporters, industry leaders, and cabinet members at a Rose Garden ceremony that the days of U.S. “economic surrender” are over.
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Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata, when asked for a reaction, issued a written statement saying, “Our people in American Samoa would feel the impact of any fluctuations in the cost of goods.”
Amata acknowledged that tariffs could decrease with negotiations, but emphasized that she would be “very attentive to inflation concerns, monitor developments, and closely watch any congressional oversight.”
Democrats, some industry groups, and economists have criticized Trump’s actions, saying they could disrupt global supply chains and strengthen China’s position in the Pacific.
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