Washington [US], May 2: CNN reported on May 1 that the U.S. Senate rejected a bill aimed at blocking President Donald Trump's tariff policy, just hours after the federal government announced that the U.S. economy was growing negatively for the first time in three years.
The bill proposes to lift the national emergency, which is the basis for Trump to declare retaliatory tariffs on trading partners. In the vote on April 30, the bill had a 49-49 approval rating, before Vice President J.D. Vance, who holds the leadership of the Senate, voted against and was decisive. The voting session took place after the US Department of Commerce said that the country's GDP fell by 0.3% in the first quarter.
In a related development, Mr. Trump acknowledged that his tariff policy could lead to fewer and more expensive products in the United States. He said that American children could "have 2 dolls instead of 30 dolls," and claimed that China would lose even more from the trade war, according to the Associated Press. He criticized his predecessor Joe Biden for causing the U.S. stock market to fall, while telling his cabinet that tariffs meant China would have a big headache because "their factories can't do business".
Regarding tariff negotiations, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer forecasts that Washington will reach an initial tariff agreement with some trading partners in the next few weeks, but negotiations with India have not yet reached the "finish line" and there is currently no formal dialogue with China. Trump, meanwhile, said he has the "potential" to reach trade deals with India, South Korea and Japan.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper