Summarize and humanize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in EnglishUS president Donald Trump has given Taliban-controlled Afghanistan the same tariff as the UK, despite the Central Asian country applying a levy on imported US goods five times larger than Britain’s. The Republican president announced sweeping tariffs for goods imported to the US from almost all nations, which would force American consumers to pay a levy on foreign products. His administration reportedly used a simple formula to calculate the rate that ought to be applied to goods from different countries that takes into account trade deficits, with a baseline tariff of 10%. Heidi Crebo-Rediker, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a former Obama administration economist, slammed the tariffs as ‘a spectacular own goal’ in a comment to MailOnline. While the tariffs appeared to be applied evenly across the board, the one applied to Afghan products sticks out. Though the nation applied a 49% tariff on goods imported from the US, it was given the same 10% baseline tariff as the UK, despite the fact that the UK applies a tariff of 10% to US-imported products. A look back at Donald Trump’s relationship with the Taliban during his time in the Oval Office reveals the diplomatic relationship between him and the still-sanctioned group has slowly, but surely, deepened over both of his terms in high office. Last month, American George Glezmann was released by his Taliban captors after two years as their hostage. The move was described by the Taliban at the time as a ‘goodwill gesture.’ Donald Trump signs an executive order to start reciprocal tariffs on many other nations in the White House’s Rose Garden on April 2 2025 A Taliban security personnel stands guard as Muslim devotees (back) gather to offer Eid al-Fitr prayers, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, outside the Hazrat-e- Omar mosque in Kandahar on March 30, 2025CNN reported that during these talks, Taliban officials raised the prospect of the US recognising the terror group as the official rulers of Afghanistan.It also put forward a request to open an office in the US to deal with Afghan-related issued. Officials offered to not officially call this office an embassy, and said they were happy to have it located outside Washington DC, typically where most embassies call home in the US. Earlier this year, it was revealed the Taliban had delayed the release of America hostage Ryan Corbett to allow Trump to take the win instead of Joe Biden. According to a person briefed on the trade: ‘They [the Taliban] didn’t want the news to die during the inauguration and they want the Trump administration to have the credit.’But it appears that it isn’t just the Taliban that has been working to deepen the relationship. Shortly after Glezmann was released, the US agreed to remove several million dollars of bounties on the heads of three members of the Haqqani terror network, which was blamed for some of the deadliest attacks during the war in Afghanistan and is still sanctioned as a terrorist organisation by both the UK and US. On top of this, the US is also reportedly working to review bounties on all members of the terror group. Trump has also spoken highly of the terror group and its leadership. During a 2021 Fox interview, he called the Taliban ‘good fighters’ and ‘really smart.’ Mr Trump appeared to have deliberately waited until markets were closed to make his announcement The first of eight pages of reciprocal tariffs that the White House announced during Wednesday’s event in the Rose Garden
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He added during the same interview: ‘I spoke to the [Taliban] boss, I spoke to the head man, and frankly I got along with him great.’Trump said the Taliban were ‘naturally tough’ and ‘have been fighting for 2,000 years.’He also reportedly invited representatives of the terror group to Camp David, the presidential retreat, to discuss pulling US troops out of Afghanistan and potentially setting up a peace deal just before the anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks. This was widely condemned when the information was made public. Crebo-Rediker, the former Obama-era economist, told MailOnline that Trump’s tariffs plane would be a disaster. She said: ‘This was a spectacular own goal for the United States and will leave consumers, farmers and businesses far worse off than anyone expects: not only higher inflation and lower growth, but we now have a real risk of recession. ‘It will hit low- and middle-income earners disproportionately. And we violated all of our Free Trade Agreements. Just a disastrous policy choice.’She added: ‘The Trump Administration imposed tariffs not only on our largest trading partners (and closest allies) but imposed tariffs on several of the poorest countries in the world, and islands with no human inhabitants. ‘It did not, however, impose tariffs on Russia, Belarus, North Korea or Cuba.’So far, Taliban leaders have not reacted to the 10% tariffs. Donald Trump confirmed that the UK will not escape the pain of levies he claims will restore ‘fairness’ in global trade Mr Trump invited one blue-collar worker up on stage to endorse his tariff approachBut the UK has indignantly drawn up a mammoth 417-page list of US imports that could be hit with tariffs in revenge for Trump’s White House attack on global trade.Consumer favourites like Levi’s jeans, Jack Daniel’s whiskey and Harley Davidson motorcycles are all in the astonishingly lengthy document. They were subject to tariffs during the trade wars in Mr Trump’s first term in the White House. But the comprehensive list also covers items from livestock and raw meat like chicken wings to rollercoasters, cricket balls, live bees and tailors’ dummies.And in a move that may horrify the golf-loving president, the list includes club and ball brands made in the USA.The list was released as part of the government’s four-week consultation on how to respond to Trump’s tariff tirade last night. The UK was hit with a general 10 per cent tariff on exports to the US under the president’s ‘Make America Wealthy Again’ plan, which has caused stock markets to plummet around the world.Sir Keir Starmer and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds are still trying to hammer out a trade deal that would remove the tariffs.But they have set a deadline of May 1, after which the UK could act. The Prime Minister has acknowledged there will be an economic hit for the UK from the 10 per cent import tariff that has been put on British goods entering the US. Mr Trump read many of the tariffs off the chart during the rambling press conference The president’s launch event was titled ‘Make America Wealthy Again’ President Donald Trump holds up a giant chart showing some of the reciprocal tariffs his administration plans to charge foreign countries. Every country will be charged at least a 10 percent tariff to import goods to the U.S. Ministers have said they will keep working towards a trade deal with the US, but Sir Keir Starmer stressed that ‘nothing is off the table’ in terms of a response.Addressing the Commons on Thursday, Mr Reynolds said: ‘It remains our belief that the best route to economic stability for working people is a negotiated deal with the US that builds on our shared strengths.’However, we do reserve the right to take any action we deem necessary if a deal is not secured. ‘To enable the UK to have every option open to us in future, I am today launching a request for input on the implications for British businesses of possible retaliatory action.’This is a formal step, necessary for us to keep all options on the table.’We will seek the views of UK stakeholders over four weeks until May 1 2025, on products that could potentially be included in any UK tariff response.’This exercise will also give businesses the chance to have their say and influence the design of any possible UK action.’If we are in a position to agree an economic deal with the US that lifts the tariffs that have been placed on our industries, this request for input will be paused, and any measures flowing from that will be lifted.’Mr Reynolds added: ‘Further information on the request for input will be published on gov.uk later, alongside an indicative list of potential products that the Government considers most appropriate for inclusion.’
