Trump’s sweeping tariffs amp up global trade war as China, EU vow response (2025)

WASHINGTON –President Donald Trump’s decision to slap a 10 per cent 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 April 2 immediately unleashed turbulence across world markets and drew condemnation from other leaders now faced with the end of decades of trade liberalisation that have shaped the global order.

As Asia awoke to the news on April 3, 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 US$5 trillion (S$6.7 trillion) of value since mid-February.

China – the world’s second-largest economy – which faced a fresh 34 per cent tariff on top of the 20 per cent Mr Trump had previously imposed, urged the US 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,” Mr Bessent told CNN.

Close US allies were not spared Mr Trump’s ire, including the European Union, which faces a 20 per cent tariff, and Japan, which is targeted for a 24 per cent rate.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen described the tariffs as a major blow to the world economy, and said the 27-member bloc was prepared to respond with countermeasures if talks with Washington failed.

“The consequences will be dire for millions of people around the globe,” she said in a statement.

Tokyo said it was leaving all options to respond to the “extremely regrettable” duties.

The base 10 per cent 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 per cent under Mr Trump, from just 2.5 per cent in 2024, according to the head of US research at Fitch Ratings.

“That rate was last seen around 1910,” Mr 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, Mr 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.

“For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike,” Mr Trump said at an event at the White House Rose Garden.

Outside economists have warned that tariffs could slow the global economy, raise the risk of recession, and increase living costs for the average US family by thousands of dollars.

Canada and Mexico, the US’ two largest trading partners, already face tariffs of 25 per cent on many goods and will not face additional levies from the April 2 announcement.

Even some fellow Republicans have expressed concern about Mr Trump’s aggressive trade policy.

Within hours of the tariffs announcement, the Senate voted 51-48 to approve legislation that would terminate Mr Trump’s Canadian tariffs, with a handful of Republicans breaking with the President. Passage in the Republican-controlled US House of Representatives, however, was seen as unlikely.

Mr Trump’s top economist, Mr Stephen Miran, told Fox Business that 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,” Mr Miran, chairman of Mr Trump’s Council of Economic Advisers, told the network’s Kudlow programme.

Ending ‘de minimis’

The reciprocal tariffs do not apply to certain goods, including copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, lumber, gold, energy and “certain minerals that are not available in the United States”, according to a White House fact sheet.

Following his remarks, Mr Trump signed an order to close a trade loophole used to ship low-value packages – those valued at US$800 or less – duty-free from China, known as “de minimis”. The order covers goods from China and Hong Kong, and will take effect on May 2, according to the White House.

Chinese chemical-makers are the top suppliers of raw materials purchased by Mexico’s cartels to produce the deadly drug fentanyl, US anti-narcotics officials say. A Reuters investigation in 2024 showed how traffickers often route these chemicals through the US by exploiting the de minimis rule. China has repeatedly denied culpability.

Mr Trump is also planning other tariffs targeting semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and potentially critical minerals, the official said.

Mr Trump’s barrage of penalties has rattled financial markets and businesses that have relied on trading arrangements that have been in place since the middle of the last century.

Earlier in the day, the administration said a separate set of tariffs on auto imports that Mr Trump announced last week will take effect starting on April 3.

Mr Trump previously imposed 25 per cent duties on steel and aluminium, and extended them to nearly US$150 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.

European leaders reacted with dismay, saying a trade war would hurt consumers and benefit neither side.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said: “We will do everything we can to work towards an agreement with the United States, with the goal of avoiding a trade war that would inevitably weaken the West in favour of other global players.”

US Representative Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he would introduce legislation to end the tariffs. Such a Bill has little chance of passing the Republican-controlled Congress, however.

“Trump just hit Americans with the largest regressive tax hike in modern history – massive tariffs on all imports. His reckless policies are not only crashing markets, they will disproportionately hurt working families,” Mr Meeks said. REUTERS

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