Trump’s Trade Agenda Targets Global Standards, Taxes, Currency Practices/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ President Donald Trump’s trade policy is no longer focused solely on tariffs. The administration is demanding sweeping reforms from trade partners — including changes to taxes, safety standards, currency exchange rates, and red tape — as part of a broader strategy to reset global trade relationships in America’s favor.
Trump’s Expanded Trade Agenda: Quick Looks
- Beyond Tariffs: Trump targeting non-tariff barriers such as product standards and VAT taxes.
- Currency Manipulation Claims: U.S. accuses Germany, Japan, and China of undervaluing currencies.
- Agricultural Disputes: Hormone-treated beef, chlorine-washed chicken, and potato bans under fire.
- Three-Month Deadline: Countries have 90 days to negotiate or face tariffs as high as 50%.
- Bureaucracy Complaints: U.S. slams slow export approvals and quota systems in Japan and Korea.
- Value-Added Tax Targeted: Trump argues VAT is unfair, despite economists calling it neutral.
- Product Standards Criticized: U.S. wants Japan to accept American auto safety tests.
- Push for U.S. Exports: Energy, soybeans, and U.S. manufacturing emphasized in negotiations.
- Leverage, Not Logistics: Experts say Trump may use these issues to justify tariffs, not solve them.
- No Clear Path: Trade partners unsure what specific changes the U.S. wants from talks.
Trump’s Trade Agenda Targets Global Standards, Taxes, Currency Practices
Deep Look
The Trump administration’s latest trade offensive goes far beyond traditional tariff battles. In a sweeping effort to reset global trade rules in America’s favor, President Donald Trump is demanding that other nations not only lower import duties but also reform domestic policies — from food safety regulations to national tax systems.
In early April, Trump unveiled broad new tariffs on imports ranging from 10% to over 50%, though enforcement was postponed for 90 days. While tariffs on China have already taken effect, other nations now face a short window to avoid similar penalties — if they meet Washington’s growing list of trade demands.
But the U.S. definition of “trade barrier” has broadened dramatically under Trump. His administration is now pressing foreign governments on currency exchange rates, agricultural safety rules, bureaucratic inefficiencies, VAT tax systems, and product standards — all under the banner of creating a level playing field for U.S. companies.
Currency Manipulation and Rate Disputes
Trump continues to accuse countries like Germany, Japan, and China of artificially weakening their currencies to boost exports. While Japan’s yen has appreciated against the dollar since summer 2024, Trump insists central banks are still manipulating markets unfairly. The European Central Bank’s low interest rates have also drawn U.S. criticism, despite ECB officials insisting that monetary policy isn’t aimed at influencing exchange rates.
Farm Products and Food Safety Rules
Agricultural access is another flashpoint. The U.S. is pressuring Japan to open its potato market — potentially worth $150 million — and to relax its longstanding restrictions on U.S. rice and hormone-treated beef. In the European Union, bans on chlorinated chicken and hormone-injected meat remain non-negotiable due to strict public health standards and strong farm lobbies.
Korea, meanwhile, maintains a restriction on beef imports from cows over 30 months old, originally put in place during the 2008 mad cow disease protests. Despite the U.S. becoming South Korea’s top beef supplier, officials there say domestic political resistance to change remains strong.
VAT and the Tax Code Debate
Trump’s trade team is also targeting value-added tax (VAT) systems used widely around the world. VAT applies at multiple stages of production and is often more than 20% in EU nations. The administration argues that VAT gives foreign producers an edge — even though economists overwhelmingly view it as trade-neutral. The U.S., which lacks a national VAT, remains an outlier.
Trade law expert Jaemin Lee of Seoul National University says this focus is unusual and unlikely to yield concessions: “Domestic taxation isn’t normally up for negotiation. It’s tied to sovereignty and internal policy.”
Standards and Bureaucratic Red Tape
American companies have long criticized foreign product standards that diverge from U.S. norms. The Trump administration has taken up those complaints, especially with Japan’s refusal to recognize U.S. auto safety standards and the country’s insistence on using its own outdated ChaDeMo EV charging protocol, making it harder for U.S. electric vehicle makers to compete for subsidies.
Bureaucratic bottlenecks are also on the list. U.S. exporters of seafood, wheat, and pharmaceuticals complain of excessive paperwork and delays, particularly in Japan and South Korea. Japan’s government-run grain import system and its opaque rice quota regime are seen as deliberately structured to limit U.S. market share.
Trump’s Real Goal: Buying More from the U.S.
Despite these broad complaints, analysts suggest Trump’s ultimate objective is not resolving individual trade frictions, but compelling nations to buy more American goods — particularly energy, agricultural products, and cars — and to build manufacturing plants in the U.S.
Trump has floated lofty export goals, including a proposed $350 billion in liquefied natural gas (LNG) sales to Europe, even though EU LNG imports from the U.S. totaled only about $13 billion last year. The EU, seeking to cut fossil fuel use long-term, is unlikely to meet that target.
According to Tobias Gehrke, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, much of the non-tariff conversation may simply serve as political justification for tough tariffs. “It’s just a thing that’s there to justify my tariffs,” he said, paraphrasing Trump’s strategy.
“Trump and his cabinet don’t really care about chlorinated chicken regulations. What they want is European companies shifting production to the U.S. and exporting from here to Europe. That would change the trade balance — and that’s the real target.”
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