WASHINGTON: Donald Trump, the US President has further escalated the trade war by announcing a baseline 10% tariff on all imports, higher duties on key trading partners of the United States, and a 29% tariff on Pakistan, stressing the country of imposing a 58% tariff on US goods.
Trump’s decision to slap a 10% tariff on most goods imported to the United States, as well as higher duties on dozens of countries from rivals to allies, has intensified a global trade war that threatens to stoke inflation and stall growth.
The sweeping duties announced against the serene backdrop of the White House Rose Garden on Wednesday immediately unleashed turbulence across world markets and drew condemnation from other leaders now faced with the end of decades of trade liberalization that have shaped the global order.
As Asia awoke to the news on Thursday, Japan’s Nikkei hit an eight-month low while US and European stock futures dropped sharply following weeks of volatile trading. US stocks have erased nearly $5 trillion of value since mid-February.
China, the world’s second-largest economy, faced with a fresh 34% tariff on top of the 20% Trump previously imposed, urged the United States to immediately cancel its latest levies and vowed countermeasures.
US Treasury chief Scott Bessent urged other nations not to retaliate, moves that could lead to dramatically higher prices for consumers on everything from bicycles to wine. “If you retaliate, that’s how we get escalation,” Bessent said while talking to US media.
Close US allies were not spared Trump’s ire, including the European Union, which faces a 20% tariff, and Japan, which is targeted for a 24% rate. Tokyo said it was leaving all options to respond to the “extremely regrettable” duties.
The base 10% tariffs go into effect on April 5 and the higher reciprocal rates on April 9.
The effective US import tax rate has shot to 22% under Trump from just 2.5% in 2024, according to the head of US research at Fitch Ratings.
“That rate was last seen around 1910,” Olu Sonola said in a statement. “This is a game-changer, not only for the US economy but for the global economy. Many countries will likely end up in a recession. You can throw most forecasts out the door if this tariff rate stays on for an extended period of time.”
The “reciprocal” tariffs, Trump said, were a response to duties and other non-tariff barriers put on US goods. He argued that the new levies will boost manufacturing jobs at home.
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