United States: US President Donald Trump has confirmed that new tariffs set to be announced this week will apply to all countries, not just those with the largest trade imbalances with the United States.
The latest measures, which Trump has referred to as America’s “Liberation Day,” will add to existing tariffs on aluminium, steel, and vehicles, as well as increased levies on all Chinese imports. The president’s move has sparked concerns among investors, with Asian markets sliding in early trading.
Trump stated that, “You’d start with all countries. Essentially all of the countries that we’re talking about.” However, he suggested that the US would implement the measures in a “far more generous” manner than other nations had done to America.
The announcement has raised fears of a broader trade war, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropping nearly 4 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng falling 1.2 percent, and South Korea’s Kospi declining by 2.5 percent in early trading.
Trump’s top trade adviser, Pete Navarro, claimed that the tariffs could generate significant revenue, with a tax on car imports alone potentially raising $100 billion on a $240 billion trade. He estimated that all planned tariffs could yield $600 billion—around one-fifth of total US goods imports.
A White House fact sheet released last week projected that a 10 percent tariff on all imports could create nearly three million US jobs. However, economists warn that the policies could increase the risk of a recession.
As the US moves ahead with its plans, other nations are preparing countermeasures. The European Union and Canada have already signalled their intent to introduce retaliatory tariffs. The developments also place pressure on trade negotiations with the UK and other US trading partners.
In a separate development, Trump said that a deal for TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app would be finalised before the deadline. The sale is required to comply with a law passed under the Biden administration, which set an April 5 deadline for the platform to transition to non-Chinese ownership or face a ban in the US on national security grounds.
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