The new rates of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, have shocked governments and investors, causing consternation and threats of retaliation.
There have been called to negotiations to terminate the rigid new import taxes taxes on the assets of countries around the world, since global actions sank during the night in response to yesterday’s announcement.
China accused the United States of “intimidation” and the European Union said it was ready to retaliate, and French officials suggested measures to hit the large US technological companies.
The complete list of Trump’s ‘reciprocal’ rates
However, calls to make an EU agreement, the United Kingdom and Japan indicated a lack of appetite for increasing commercial tensions with the world’s largest economy and fear that slapping tariffs on US goods only worsen things.
Trump said import taxes, which go from 10 percent to 49 percent, would make the United States business partners what they have done for a long time to the United States. He maintains that they will attract factories and return work to the United States.
“Taxpayers have been scammed for more than 50 years,” he said. “But it will not happen anymore.”
Trump highlighted the imports of Australian beef to the US. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned Trump’s measure, saying he was not “the act of a friend.”
Trump imposed a 34 percent tax on China’s assets in addition to an earlier rate of 20 percent, as well as a 20 percent rate for the European Union, 24 percent in Japan and 25 percent in South Korea.
The spokesman of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Guo Jiakun, asked for commercial talks and said that “there are no winners in commercial wars and tariff wars, and protectionism is not an exit … It is clear for all that more and more countries oppose unilateral intimidation actions in the United States, such as imposing tariffs.”
China, which is a key exporter for the United States, from kitchen utensils to clothing, has already announced a series of retaliation measures that increase prices for US consumers.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, urged companies to “suspend” investments in the United States pending conversations with the Trump administration, denouncing a “brutal and unfounded” decision.
“Why would it be the message that the main European actors invested billions of euros in the US economy at a time when they are hitting us?” Macron said before meeting with key business representatives affected by American tariffs, including wines and liquors, food industry, cosmetics, health, metals and airplanes.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, denounced the tariffs as a “great blow to the world economy”, but retained the announcement of new reprisal measures and said that the commission, which manages commercial problems for the 27 member countries, was “always ready” to speak.
Analysts say there is little to obtain from a total commercial war, for the United States or other countries, since higher rates can reduce growth and increase inflation. Tariffs are not paid by the countries that are imposed, but by the US companies that buy products to sell to Americans. They must decide whether to absorb new taxes or transmit them to consumers in the form of higher prices.
“If Trump really imposes high rates, Europe will have to answer, but the paradox is that the EU would be better without doing anything,” said Matteo Villa, a senior analyst of the Institute of International Political Studies of Italy.
“On the other hand, Trump seems to understand only the language of force, and this indicates the need for a strong and immediate response,” Villa said. “Probably hope, in Brussels, is that the answer will be strong enough to induce Trump to negotiate and, soon, to go back.”
Reggian Parmigian cheese manufacturers of Italy say that new tariffs only mean that US consumers will pay more, since protected designation really does not compete with the Parmesan made. “The Americans continued to choose us even when the price rose” after an earlier round of Trump tariffs in 2019, said Nicola Bertinelli, president of the Reggian Parmigian consortium.
“Putting tariffs on a product like ours, only increases the price for US consumers, without protecting local producers,” he said.
The following objective could be US technology companies
Europe’s strategy has so far been limiting reprisals to the first tariff rounds to only a few politically sensitive assets, such as Bourbon and motorcycles in an attempt to take the United States to the negotiating table, instead of increasing a total commercial war that could paralyze its export -dependent economy.
Economists say that the next objective could be US technology companies. They enter the category of services, where the US exports more than what matters to Europe and, therefore, would be more exposed to reprisals.
The EU response, which is probably ready by the end of April, includes the option of a tax on digital giants in the United States, said French government spokeswoman Sophie Primas. “We are going to point to the services, for example, digital services that are not being taxed for now and could be, the GAFAM, for example,,” said in French Radio RTL. That is an colloquial acronym for Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft.
The outgoing German chancellor Olaf Scholz said that the EU cannot just say that tariffs are harmful: “We must demonstrate that we have strong muscles.”
He added: “But this is with the objective of an agreement, because that is the best for prosperity in the United States, for prosperity in Europe and for prosperity in the world.”
British prime minister Kier Starmer said that the United Kingdom government would react with “fresh and quiet heads,” telling the business leaders in London who expects tariffs to be lifted with a commercial agreement. “No one wins in a commercial war, that is not of our national interest,” said Starmer.
Japan, the closest ally in the United States in Asia, plans to analyze closely the tariffs of the United States and its impact, said the chief secretary of the Cabinet, Yoshimasa Hayashi, while refraining from talking about reprisals.
‘Kit to the world economy’
The financial markets shook, with futures of US shares by lowering to 3 percent early on Thursday and a 2.8 percent drop in Tokyo’s reference reference losses in Asia. Oil prices sank more than $ 2 per barrel. Analysts asked the superlatives at a step that interrupts the global commercial order and revokes decades of efforts to reduce rates through commercial conversations and free trade agreements.
“The magnitude of the deployment, both on scale and speed, was not only aggressive; it was a macro interruption of the entire trotottle,” said Stephen Innes of Spi Asset Management in a comment. Jim Reid, from Deutsche Bank, described him as “radical policies reorganization” and said that the United States now had an average rate from 25 % to 30 %, the “worst end of expectations” and the highest since the beginning of the 20th century.
“This is a change of play, not only for the economy of the United States but for the global economy. Many countries will probably end in a recession,” said Olu Sonola, head of economic research from the United States of Fitch Ratings. “You can throw most forecasts through the door, if this rate remains on for a prolonged period of time.”
Asian countries that are among the largest exporters in the United States promised to act quickly to support car manufacturers and other companies that are probably affected.
South Korea’s prime minister Han Duck-Soo told officials to work with business groups to analyze the impact of the new 25 percent rate to “minimize the damage,” said the Ministry of Commerce.
China’s Ministry of Commerce said that Beijing “would take decidedly countermeasures to safeguard their own rights and interests,” without saying exactly what he could do. With previous rates of rates, China reacted by imposing higher tasks in US exports of agricultural products, while limiting mineral exports used for high -tech industries such as electric vehicles.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she would wait to see how Trump’s announcement will affect Mexico, which, like Canada, was saved from goods already qualified under her free trade agreement with the United States, although she previously announced 25 percent tariffs on automotive imports in force on Thursday.
A 29 percent rate imposed on the small advanced position of the South Pacific of Norfolk Island was a shock. The Australian territory has a population of approximately 2000 people and the economy revolves around tourism.
“Let me know, we do not export anything to the United States,” said the administrator of Norfolk Island, George Plant, representative of the Australian government on the island. “We do not charge tariffs on anything. I can’t think of any non -tariff barrier that would not be in place, so we are scratching our head here.”
