Rubio Says US Could Engage in New Trade Deals after Tariffs Imposed

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio disembarks from his vehicle as he walks to board his airplane prior to departing Quebec City Jean Lesage International Airport in Quebec, Canada, Friday, March 14, 2025. (Saul Loeb, Pool Photo via AP)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio disembarks from his vehicle as he walks to board his airplane prior to departing Quebec City Jean Lesage International Airport in Quebec, Canada, Friday, March 14, 2025. (Saul Loeb, Pool Photo via AP)
TT
20

Rubio Says US Could Engage in New Trade Deals after Tariffs Imposed

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio disembarks from his vehicle as he walks to board his airplane prior to departing Quebec City Jean Lesage International Airport in Quebec, Canada, Friday, March 14, 2025. (Saul Loeb, Pool Photo via AP)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio disembarks from his vehicle as he walks to board his airplane prior to departing Quebec City Jean Lesage International Airport in Quebec, Canada, Friday, March 14, 2025. (Saul Loeb, Pool Photo via AP)

Once the United States has imposed tariffs on its major trading partners it could engage in bilateral talks with countries on new trade arrangements, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday.

US President Donald Trump threatened on Thursday to slap a 200% tariff on wine, cognac and other alcohol imports from Europe, opening a new front in a global trade war that has roiled financial markets and raised recession fears.

Rubio said the United States would retaliate against nations that had imposed tariffs on it.

“This is global. It's not against Canada, it's not against Mexico, it's not against the EU, it's everybody,” he told the CBS show “Face the Nation.”

“And then, from that new baseline of fairness and reciprocity, we will engage - potentially - in bilateral negotiations with countries around the world on new trade arrangements that make sense for both sides,” he continued.

Rubio, who did not give details of what the new deals could look like, said the United States would “reset the baseline” to ensure it was treated fairly.

“We don't like the status quo. We are going to set a new status quo, and then we can negotiate something, if they (other nations) want to,” he said. “What we have now cannot continue.”



Dollar Hobbled by Economic Worries; Euro Remains in Favor

US dollar drifted within a tight range on Monday, pressured by lower Treasury yields - Reuters
US dollar drifted within a tight range on Monday, pressured by lower Treasury yields - Reuters
TT
20

Dollar Hobbled by Economic Worries; Euro Remains in Favor

US dollar drifted within a tight range on Monday, pressured by lower Treasury yields - Reuters
US dollar drifted within a tight range on Monday, pressured by lower Treasury yields - Reuters

The dollar hovered near a five-month low against major peers on Monday, bruised by President Donald Trump's erratic trade policies and soft economic data, at a time when other currencies, including the euro, benefit from domestic drivers.

The euro was last at $1.0905, up 0.2% on the day, and heading back towards the $1.0947 it hit last week, its highest since October 11.

The Japanese yen was also marginally stronger on the day at 148.48 per dollar, again after hitting its strongest in five months last week at 146.5 to the dollar.

That left the dollar index, which measures the US currency against its six major counterparts, at 103.5, just off its five-month trough of 103.21 reached last Tuesday, Reuters reported.

Currency markets have undergone a shift in recent months, as traders re-evaluate their initial expectations that Trump's economic policies would both support the dollar and cause other currencies to weaken.

In fact the reverse has happened, and analysts at Societe Generale said on Monday that they had changed their currency forecasts "to reflect Germany's planned fiscal changes, the US economy's self-inflicted (relative) fragility, and Japan’s escape from deflation".

They see the euro at $1.13 by year-end and the yen at 139 per dollar.