The trade war is about to ramp up. A guide for tariff week.
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Prepare for an everything, everywhere onslaught of trade developments this week as the Trump administration unveils its much talked about tariffs. Investors and companies hoping for clarity are likely to be disappointed: There may just be another spate of trade war scenarios to game out.
President Donald Trump views tariffs as a powerful tool to reorder global trade and bring back manufacturing jobs to narrow the $918 billion U.S. trade deficit. The levies are also a conduit for raising revenue and a cudgel in wide-ranging negotiations that tackle fentanyl flows, military spending, and a potential TikTok sale.
In the 10 weeks since his inauguration, Trump has levied two rounds of 10% tariffs on China and 25% tariffs on imported cars and certain auto parts starting April 3. He has also imposed 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, hitting America’s closest trading partners and throwing into question the U.S.-Mexico-Canada-Agreement he crafted in his first term.These countries have prepped their retaliation, with Europe readying duties on bourbon, motorcycles, and other U.S. goods for April.
China is imposing up to 15% tariffs on U.S. agricultural products and warning of more countermeasures to any reciprocal tariffs. Canadian consumers are already boycotting U.S.
products. “And the trade war hasn’t even started yet. The tariffs are going to be massively disruptive," says Henrietta Treyz, director of economic research at Veda Partners.
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