Trump Announces New Tariffs Against Countries Worldwide, EU Prepares Response
On 2 April, US President Donald Trump officially announced the start of a trade war with all countries of the world simultaneously, announcing tariffs of 10% to 50% on imports to the US depending on the country of origin, CNBC reports.
Trump's tariffs apply to countries from almost all over the world, with the exception of a few countries, including Russia. The White House said that Russia was left out because US sanctions already ‘make any meaningful trade impossible’.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned US trading partners against retaliating against Trump's move.
The new tariffs will take effect on 5 April.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned that the tariffs announced by Trump would seriously hit the global economy and added that the European Union was preparing retaliatory measures. This is said in her statement released by the European Commission's press service.
‘President Trump's announcement of universal tariffs for the whole world, including the EU, is a serious blow to the global economy.
‘All such Russian strikes prove that Ukraine needs enough air defence systems and missiles to protect all people in Ukraine from Russian terror.We are working with all partners for this,’ he wrote on Facebook.
The global economy will suffer massively. The consequences will be dire for millions of people around the world,’ von der Leyen said.
According to her, ‘the tariffs will also hurt consumers around the world’, and this ‘will be felt immediately’.
‘Millions of citizens will face higher food bills. Medicines will cost more, as will transport. Inflation will go up. And it will hit the most vulnerable people especially hard. All businesses - large and small - will suffer from day one,’ the European Commission President said.
She added that she agrees with Trump that other countries have unfairly used global trade rules and is ready to support efforts to reform them, but stressed that the use of tariffs will not solve the problem.
‘That is why, from the very beginning, we have always been ready to negotiate with the US to remove any remaining barriers to transatlantic trade. At the same time, we are ready to respond. We are already finalising the first package of countermeasures in response to the steel tariffs. And we are now preparing further countermeasures to protect our interests and our business if the negotiations fail,’ von der Leyen said.
She stressed that ‘Europeans will always promote and defend their interests and values’.
‘And we will always stand up for Europe. But there is an alternative way. It is not too late to solve problems through negotiations,’ von der Leyen concluded.
As The Gaze reported, on 4 March, Donald Trump announced the introduction of 25 per cent tariffs on most Canadian and Mexican imports. But later, the US President suspended them until 2 April.