Donald Trump promised on Saturday to make it too costly for countries to show away from the US dollar, adding a brand new pillar to his tariff program.
“You are abandoning the dollar and no longer doing business with the United States because we are going to impose a 100 percent tariff on your goods,” the Republican presidential candidate said at a rally within the swing state of Wisconsin.
The statement followed months of discussions between Trump and his economic advisers about ways to punish allies or adversaries who seek to actively take part in bilateral trade in currencies aside from the dollar.
Options included export controls, fees for currency manipulation and tariffs. People conversant in the matter have said before Bloomberg News.
Trump, who has long pursued a protectionist trade policy, said the dollar has been “under massive siege” for eight years. China, India, Brazil, Russia and South Africa discussed de-dollarization at a summit last yr. Trump, however, wants the dollar to stay the world’s reserve currency, a promise he reiterated at his rally on Saturday.
Wisconsin is considered one of the important thing swing states within the race between Trump and his Democratic rival Kamala Harris. The two are vying for the support of the state’s working class, uncomfortable with President Joe Biden’s economic agenda and drawn to Trump’s populist appeals.
A Bloomberg News/Morning Consult Survey published Last week, Harris was ahead in Wisconsin by 8 percentage points, her largest lead over Trump within the seven swing states poll.
With his rally in Wisconsin, Trump capped off a campaign tour that took him to Pennsylvania and North Carolina, amongst other places. He also stopped in his hometown of New York, where he gave an economic speech and held a press conference.
Harris spent Saturday in Pennsylvania preparing for a debate with Trump on Tuesday, the following big test that might change the course of the close race.
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