Trump's Tariffs Pull Up Major Trade Barriers Globally
In an unprecedented move, the Trump administration on Wednesday announced additional tariffs of at least 10 percent on most other countries, while imposing higher duties on those nations levying very high rates on U.S. imports or thought to otherwise engage in trade or currency practices seen as unfair by the current U.S. government. A release on the topic went as far as listing lower domestic consumption compared to GDP in countries like Singapore, China, Ireland or Germany as a reason to impose higher tariffs on them. The trade deficit the United States has with other countries due to its high consumption behavior and lower domestic production of goods was also repeatedly citied in the context and has been known to be a thorn in Trump's side since his first administration. Then, the country that has the highest trade deficit with the United States - China - had been the predominant target of tariffs.
Some countries that levy high import dues are now seeing additional tariffs slapped on their exports to the United States. These include, for example, India (+26 percent), Tunisia (+28 percent) or Algeria (+30 percent). Other nations that are not known for their high-tariff regimes but nevertheless received additionall tariff rates higher than the standard 10 percent due to other practices flagged include the European Union countries (+20 percent) or China (+34 percent, rate now at +54 percent). Again other countries received a high rate by Trump due to tariffs on specific goods. Indonesia was hit with an additional "reciprocal" tariff of 32 percent, while its 30-percent duty on Ethanol imports was cited. According to a report by ING, those countries sending a large amount of lower-priced goods like footwear, apparel or furniture to the United States were also hit with above-average duties not fully representative of the height of their tariff levels, including Vietnam (+46 percent), Cambodia (+49 percent), Bangladesh (+37 percent) or Sri Lanka (+44 percent).