European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says the new US tariffs are a major blow to the global economy. "We are already finalizing the first package of countermeasures in response to the steel tariffs," von der Leyen said. The Commission President added that the countermeasures are intended to protect the interests of the European Union and companies within the EU in the event that negotiations with the United States fail.
China has urged the US to immediately lift its latest tariffs and has also announced countermeasures. "China firmly opposes this and will take countermeasures to safeguard its rights and interests," the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in a statement. The US move ignores the balance of interests achieved in multilateral trade negotiations over the years, Beijing said.
Trump's aggressive tariff policy
US President Donald Trump has announced new tariffs on trading partners around the world. Imports from the European Union will be subject to a 20 percent tariff, while imports from China will be subject to a 34 percent tariff. The US president said that 26 percent is a "minimum rate." Other important trading partners have also been hit: India with 25 percent, South Korea with 24 percent, and Japan with XNUMX percent.
The Western Balkan countries are also targeted: customs duties on imports from Serbia will be 37 percent, from Bosnia and Herzegovina 35 percent, and from North Macedonia 33 percent. Imports from Montenegro and Albania will be charged 10 percent.
Trump is thus continuing his aggressive tariff policy. He called April 2nd "Liberation Day" for the American economy. He even accused close trading partners of "robbing and raping" the United States with their tariff policies. He once again said that the Europeans were "playing" the United States.
China particularly affected
A “minimum tariff” of 5 percent on all goods imported into the United States will take effect on April 9, but countries deemed by the White House to be the “worst offenders” will face much higher tariffs in the future. They are set to take effect on April XNUMX.
The tariffs are likely to hit China particularly hard – the country with which the US has the largest trade deficit. Beijing can expect new tariffs of 34 percent. This is in addition to the tariffs already imposed: since March 4, additional tariffs of 20 percent on Chinese imports to the US have been in effect.
Trump said the proposed tariffs were "about half of what they're asking for and what they've asked us for."
Exceptions
Some goods, such as copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, lumber, gold and “certain minerals,” will not be affected by the reciprocal tariffs, however. According to U.S. government officials, important U.S. partners, Canada and Mexico, are also exempt from the new tariffs. However, Trump has already imposed 25 percent tariffs on imports from those two neighboring countries, and they remain in place.
Cuba, Belarus, North Korea and Russia are also not affected by Trump's new tariffs, as they are already targeted by sanctions that "preclude any meaningful trade," the White House said.
Additional customs duties
New 3 percent tariffs on car imports also take effect this Thursday (March 25). Trump previously imposed 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, which will be extended to canned beer and empty aluminum cans starting Friday.
White House officials say Trump is considering similar measures for semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and perhaps rare earth minerals.
Nevertheless, countries that import oil and gas from Venezuela could face a steep punitive tariff of 2 percent starting April 25. The measure could particularly hit China and India, where the South American country has shifted some of its exports under pressure from US sanctions. Trump has threatened similar punitive tariffs on buyers of Russian oil if there is no deal to end the war in Ukraine.
Tokyo stock market crash
The first effects of Trump's tariffs are already visible: prices on the Tokyo stock exchange, which opened for trading first today, fell sharply after the announcement from Washington.
In the first 15 minutes of trading, the Nikkei index, which tracks the shares of 225 major companies, fell about 11 percent from its closing price the previous day. As trading continued, the Nikkei rallied somewhat and was down 2,59 percent at XNUMX a.m. local time.
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