Trump had imposed tariffs on imports from most countries in the world on Wednesday. A general minimum rate of ten percent came into force on Saturday, higher tariffs for dozens of states will be effective in a second step on Wednesday.
Trump’s aggressive customs policy has fueled the fear of a major trade war with serious consequences for companies and consumers worldwide. The fears of a new significant increase in consumer prices and a weakening of their own economy up to the recession are also growing within the United States. In the past few days, the stock exchange courses have fallen around the globe.
Trump and his government represent this as temporary turbulence, from which the US economy will ultimately emerge strengthened. “This is an economic revolution and we will win,” said the Republican on Saturday at Truth Social.
Trump claims to strengthen the domestic economy with the tariffs. His government brings jobs and companies back to the country like never before, and there is already investments in trillion value, he emphasized on Saturday.
A completely different strategy in customs policy suggested Trump’s consultant Musk. In his view, the United States and Europe should ideally pass to a “zero-inch situation in order to create a free trade zone between Europe and North America,” said the entrepreneur, which was switched on by video, at the party congress of the right-wing populist Lega in Florence. Musk spoke out for a “very close partnership” between the USA and Europe.
The opposition Democrats, which had long been paralyzed after Trump’s election victory in November and his took office in January, use the tariffs for increased attacks against the president. The leader of the Democrats in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, said on Friday evening in a parliamentary debate that the tariffs are “one of the stupidest things that President Trump has ever done as president – and that means something”.
California governor Gavin Newsom announced that his state wanted to avoid tariffs. “California is not Washington DC,” said the Democrat in a video message.
Individual concerns are now also being loud within Trump’s own party. The Republican Senator Ted Cruz warned that the new tariffs could “cost jobs and hurt America”. If the United States plunges into a recession as a result of Trump’s customs policy, the congress interim elections would “probably politically a bloodbath” for the Republicans in the coming year, Cruz – actually a Trump loyalist – in his podcast.
The tariffs of ten percent that came into force on Saturday add up to before existing tariffs. Strategically important goods such as medicines and semiconductors are excluded for the United States. Also not affected by the new taxes are steel, aluminum and cars, for which the Trump government already apply to 25 percent.
From Wednesday, 60 trading partners, including the EU, Japan and China, will be occupied with even higher tariffs. A general 20 percent serve applies to imports from the European Union. The EU Commission has already announced countermeasures.
For Chinese imports, additional tariffs of 34 percent should even come into force, which then adds 54 percent with previous surcharges on China. In his part, Beijing already announced additional tariffs of 34 percent against the United States.
Trump wrote on Truth Social: “China has been hit much harder than the USA.” China and “many other nations” have treated the USA “badly”, but that is over now. In view of the US trade deficit, Trump accuses the international trading partners of “pulling the USA over”.
