Rick Waldenberg is CEO of the American company hand2mind, which sells educational toys, mainly to schools in the United States. Waldenberg created the model for the toys himself, but their production was outsourced to China. The businessman is directly affected by the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. "Tariffs are like a tax increase", he told the American channel MSNBC, and "this affects small businesses the worst."
At one point in the confrontation with China this year, trade tariffs between the two countries exceeded 100%. They are currently 30 percent for Chinese products, and negotiations between Washington and Beijing are ongoing. The deadline that Washington gave itself for trade negotiations with other countries has been extended - instead of coming into force on July 9, as announced, the countries will now have until August 1 to reach an agreement with the Trump administration, ARD recalls.
"The government doesn't care what happens to us"
The current situation is still more bearable, explains American entrepreneur Waldenberg. "I don't think the government cares what happens to us", he says. "They want to use the tariffs to attract more car factories to the US. Helping children in school is obviously not that important," he comments. Waldenberg's company has created 500 jobs and invested in new technologies, ARD correspondent Wolfgang Landmesser reports.
Discontent with Trump's new tariff policies is also high in other American industries. Now the White House has sent new letters to its trading partners threatening high tariffs if they do not conclude a deal with Washington by August 1. This is unlikely to change the mood among American businesses.
Washington: The goal is to correct the trade deficit
The letters in question were sent to some of the countries on which Trump imposed tariffs. "Please understand that these tariffs are necessary to correct your country's trade policies, which are causing the US trade deficit to become unsustainable. "It is a threat to our economy and national security," Trump wrote to foreign governments.
The US president also announced tariffs on all goods imported from these countries to the US - again justifying them with the US trade deficit.
Trump wants separate deals with each country
The US president published the letters he sent to a number of countries on his social network Truth Social. They all contain the same explanation, only the lower limit of the tariffs is different. For Japan and South Korea, for example, it is 25 percent, and for Myanmar and Laos - 40.
However, it seems that this is not the final decision - the letters also say that if the countries concerned decide to "open their markets that have been closed to the US and remove customs barriers", Washington may change the tariffs. At a press conference at the White House, Trump's spokeswoman Caroline Levitt announced that the US head of state wants to reach a separate deal with every country in the world.
So far, the US has reached trade deals with only a few countries. Last week, Trump announced that one had been concluded with Vietnam, and in early May an agreement was also signed with the UK, ARD recalls.
But the US president's customs policy has so far not led to a comprehensive trade agreement. Negotiations for such agreements usually take months and even years. Now the deadline is less than 30 days, in which separate agreements must be reached, including with the European Union.
"It's like we're going through the pandemic a second time"
Businessman Waldenberg has filed a lawsuit against the imposition of tariffs by the Trump administration. He is also supported by other American companies. The case was won in federal court at the end of May. A short time later, however, another court ruled that Trump could continue to impose tariffs.
The toy manufacturer does not want to complain. "We are doing everything we can to preserve our business", he explains. "And we will succeed. Right now it feels like we are going through the pandemic a second time. It is even harder," says Waldenberg. His company survived the pandemic. That is why people at it are confident that they will survive the changes imposed by Trump.
Author: Wolfgang Landmesser