&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Trump's tariff twist: Shocking documents reveal boost for big corporate allies – including Musk's Starlink")
US President Donald Trump's move to slap high tariffs and begin a trade war across the world was not just for prospering America's economy, as he claims, but was also aimed at serving the interests of individual companies, including Elon Musk's Starlink, a Washington Post report stated, citing internal government documents obtained by the outlet.
With imposing a whopping 50 per cent tariff on India, citing the imports of Russian oil amid the Ukraine war, asking Israel to eliminate a Chinese company's control of a key port and also pushing South Korea to publicly support deploying US troops to deter China, Trump has taken several measures amid his ongoing trade war, the documents read.
In the eight-page documents of "supplemental negotiating objectives", US officials acknowledged that potential accords would cover issues, including military basing, which is not usually found in a trade agreement.
The US officials also discussed forcing other nations to provide concessions for individual companies, including Elon Musk's Starlink and Chevron, which is one of the world's 10 largest oil producers.
The documents also revealed that in the first weeks after Trump paused his "reciprocal tariffs", the US officials made plans to press countries near China for better defence relations, including the purchase of US equipment and port visits.
“This is the first time I’ve seen that type of request in a trade agreement. When you’re sitting at the negotiating table, you’re not talking about this stuff,” Wendy Cutler, who spent more than a quarter century in the Office of the US Trade Representative, said.
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One State Department employee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said, "The document sent shock waves through the government. This isn't normally how it works."
In the past months, Trump has mixed trade and other unrelated issues, which have concerned him. He threatened Brazil to halt its prosecution of former president Jair Bolsonaro, or face 50 per cent tariffs.
In January, he threatened to impose tariffs on Colombian goods unless the leader agreed to accept deported migrants.
