President Donald Trump’s move to slap a 10 per cent tariff on most goods imported to the United States, as well as much higher levies on dozens of rivals and allies alike, has intensified a global trade war that threatens to stoke inflation and stall growth.
The sweeping penalties announced in the White House Rose Garden on Wednesday immediately unleashed turbulence across world markets and drew condemnation from other leaders now facing the end of an era of trade liberalisation that has shaped the global order for decades.
Now facing 54 per cent tariffs on exports to the US, the world’s No.2 economy China vowed countermeasures, as did the European Union – Washington’s friends and foes united in criticism of measures they fear will deal a devastating blow to global trade.
“The consequences will be dire for millions of people around the globe,” EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement, adding the 27-member bloc was preparing to hit back if talks with Washington failed.
US Treasury Chief Scott Bessent earlier warned that any such retaliatory moves would only lead to escalation.
Among close US allies, the European Union was targeted with a 20 per cent rate, Japan with 24 per cent, South Korea with 25 per cent and Taiwan with 32 per cent.
Even some tiny territories and uninhabited islands in the Antarctic were hit by tariffs, according to a list posted by the White House on X.
The base tariffs go into effect on April 5 and the higher reciprocal rates on April 9.
Trump said the “reciprocal” tariffs were a response to duties and other non-tariff barriers put on US goods.
He argued the new levies will boost manufacturing jobs at home.
“For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far,” Trump said on Wednesday.
Outside economists have warned that tariffs could slow the global economy, raise the risk of recession, and increase living costs for the average American family by thousands of dollars.
Canada and Mexico, the two largest US trading partners, already face 25 per cent tariffs on many goods and will not face additional levies from Wednesday’s announcement.
Even some fellow Republicans have expressed concern about Trump’s aggressive trade policy.
Within hours of Wednesday’s announcement, the Senate voted 51-48 to approve legislation that would terminate Trump’s Canadian tariffs, with a handful of Republicans breaking with the president, although passage in the Republican-controlled US House of Representatives is unlikely.
Trump’s top economist, Stephen Miran, told Fox Business on Wednesday the tariffs would work out well for the US in the long run, even if they cause some initial disruption.
“Are there going to be short-term bumps as a result? Absolutely,” Miran, the chairman of Trump’s Council of Economic Advisors, said.
The reciprocal tariffs do not apply to certain goods, including copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, timber, gold, energy and “certain minerals that are not available in the United States,” according to a White House fact sheet.
Earlier in the day, the administration said a separate set of tariffs on auto imports that Trump announced last week will take effect starting on Thursday.
Trump previously imposed 25 per cent duties on steel and aluminium and extended them to nearly $US150 billion ($A240 billion) worth of downstream products.
Tariff concerns have already slowed manufacturing activity across the globe, while also spurring sales of autos and other imported products as consumers rush to make purchases before prices rise.
This post was originally published on Michael West.