Officials in North Macedonia said Monday it would abolish all tariffs on imported U.S. goods in an effort to have President Trump adopt the same trade measure.
“By unilaterally reducing customs rates, we are sending a message to accelerate the process of reciprocity in a mutual trade exchange,” Finance Minister Gordana Dimitrieska Kochoska told reporters, according to the Associated Press.
Trump hit the country with a 33 percent tariff on exported goods in early May but promised to reciprocate on lower rates with countries that hammer out a deal with the White House.
“We’re getting back to some of the wealth that very, very foolish presidents gave away because they had no clue what they were doing,” Trump told reporters in April.
The move by North Macedonian leaders comes days after Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Timčo Mucunski met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and weeks after the Trump administration lauded a trade deal with the United Kingdom.
The White House and Treasury Department did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment on the matter.