Trump pledges to weed out global trade 'cheaters'

President Donald Trump on March 31 vowed to eliminate unfair trade practices around the world and criticized countries that cause large trade deficits for the United States.

President Trump's new executive orders reinforce his tough stance on trade, and are seen as a warning about the new US president's protectionist stance a week before he meets Chinese President Xi Jinping.

"From now on, those who break the rules will suffer consequences, and they will be very serious consequences," Mr. Trump declared when signing two executive orders in the Oval Office yesterday.

According to AFP, the first order is largely symbolic, requiring officials to identify "cheaters", or countries and companies that cause the US to suffer a trade deficit of nearly $50 billion per month.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the new order would require experts to study "country by country, product by product" and report back to the president within 90 days.

Officials will look for evidence of "cheating," misconduct or substandard trade deals, currency mismatches and World Trade Organization (WTO) restrictions.

US President Donald Trump. Photo: Washington Post

In his second executive order, Mr. Trump asked the government to impose tougher trade tariffs on goods that are subsidized or dumped in the U.S. market by foreign governments. The White House boss said the order would ensure that major U.S. importers fully met their obligations. “They are cheaters,” he condemned.

During the election campaign, the 70-year-old billionaire vowed to put US trade relations with countries around the world on a more favorable footing and put "America first".

"Thousands of factories have been stolen from our country, but the voiceless Americans now have a voice in the White House," Mr. Trump said.

"The prosperity of America and the American worker is my North Star," Trump asserted, adding that if it weren't for trade, he wouldn't be president.

According to Zing.vn