Donald Trump. A Euronews video screenshot
President of the United States of America Donald Trump has declared a state of emergency due to a complicated economic situation in the country and due to a trade deficit. Against this background Washington announced the introduction of trade duties varying from 10% to 50%. Almost all countries across the globe are affected. With a few exceptions. The closest allies of the USA - EU countries, Great Britain, Israel, Japan, and the Republic of Korea - have also been affected by the tariff steamroller. A 10% duty has also been imposed on imports from Ukraine. Meanwhile, Belarus and Russia are not on the tariff list.
Trump’s actions have already caused a sharp reaction across the world. Thus, the European Union called the USA’s duties an “unprecedented attack” on the world trade system. And the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said that the introduction of the tariffs will deal a severe blow to the most vulnerable segments of the population. It should be noted that when sanctions were being introduced against Belarus and Russia earlier, Ursula von der Leyen was not particularly concerned about its consequences for the population of our countries. But tariffs and sanctions are cogwheels of the same mechanism.
What are tariffs and why are they necessary?
“Sanctions or tariffs. I think the word ‘tariff’ is much better because it strengthens the dollar. I think tariffs are more effective,” Trump said on the first day of his presidency.
An explanation is in order: tariffs are described as charges levied by a government on goods imported from other countries. For example, if the USA sets a 10% tariff on some imported product worth $10,000, then the fee in favor of the state will amount to $1,000. It usually inflates the price for this product on the domestic U.S. market. Most of the time imported goods, which are subjected to tariffs, become uncompetitive and are forced out of the market by products of local manufacturers.
By and large, tariffs are needed to adjust the trade balance and support domestic producers. And the USA has had a problem with the trade balance for a long time. Back in 2017 when Trump became the president, the foreign trade deficit stood at $566 billion. In the following years the U.S. trade deficit continued growing and amounted to $918.4 billion in 2024.
Trump practiced the introduction of tariffs in his first presidential term. He claimed that his tariff policy was aimed at protecting the American market, at transferring manufacturing facilities to the USA, creating jobs and increasing tax revenues.
In fact, Trump intended to end the disastrous practice, as part of which the USA has been printing dollars for decades and paying with them for products manufactured abroad. It led to an increase in the USA’s foreign trade deficit, which led to an increase in the national debt. It is becoming more and more expensive to service this national debt. And with the U.S. dollar turning from a reserve currency into a fear factor against the backdrop of sanctions and many countries seeking to dedollarize, it is highly probable that the USA will become a bankrupt state in the future.
In 2017 Trump approved the “Buy American and hire American” import substitution program. And in early March 2018 he announced the imposition of duties on the USA’s steel and aluminum imports, including from EU countries. The Trump administration also levied tariffs ranging from 10% to 25% on a wide range of Chinese products: from steel, automobiles and electronics to clothing and food.
“When a country loses many billions of dollars in trade with virtually every nation it does business with, trade wars are a blessing, they are easy to win,” Trump stated seven years ago.
Did the end justify the means?
The imposition of tariffs is a double-edged weapon. On the one hand, protectionist measures are aimed at protecting one’s own producers. On the other hand, they can make products more expensive for consumers. It should also be taken into account that the countries against which restrictive measures have been introduced may take retaliatory steps.
A simple example. January 2018 saw Trump’s tariffs introduced against South Korean washing machines (from 20% to 50%) and Chinese solar panels (30%). According to the U.S. International Trade Commission’s findings, prices for imported washing machines and solar panels were lower than those for U.S. analogs, forcing local manufacturers out of the market. “For the first time in many years, we are bringing manufacturing back to the United States,” Trump stated on the occasion.
But the American president clearly jumped to conclusions. The measure has failed to oust imported goods. But consequences of the introduction of the tariffs were felt by ordinary Americans. Thus, LG Electronics continued selling its washing machines on the American market, but at higher prices because of the tariff. At the same time, American companies engaged in the installation of solar panels imported from China began winding down their business, which led to job cuts.
On the whole, the trade war with China has not produced anything useful for Americans. Every time Beijing reciprocated. As a result of the protectionist measures both sides suffered and by the autumn of 2019 Washington and Beijing agreed to make some concessions to each other.
It is interesting that during Joe Biden’s presidency the United States continued enforcing sanctions against China. To be honest, the efforts mainly focused on export restrictions in the field of high technologies. American companies were also banned from investing in the development of semiconductors, microelectronics, and quantum technologies in China. Washington’s goal was to slow down China’s technological advance, including in the field of artificial intelligence. However, this goal was not achieved either. Moreover, an opposite effect occurred: Chinese manufacturers succeeded in creating their own processors without relying on imports.
But Trump managed to get concessions from the closest neighbors: Mexico and Canada. During his first term the American president demanded a renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which he called “the worst deal in U.S. history.” NAFTA was eventually replaced by the United States, Mexico and Canada Agreement (USMCA). It granted the USA greater access to Canada’s dairy market and obliged Ottawa to withdraw support for its dairy industry. The USA also secured stricter requirements for automobiles imported from Canada and Mexico.
It should be noted that Trump’s tariff policy has more than just economic goals. After rising to power in January 2025 the U.S. president quite effectively addressed the problems of migration and the importation of drugs into the country by imposing duties on goods from Canada, Mexico, and Colombia. In the course of gaining concessions Trump canceled or suspended the imposition of duties.
Panama’s story is even more interesting. Trump has previously repeatedly stated that the USA intends to “take back” the Panama Canal. The U.S. president was dissatisfied with the high tariffs American vessels had to pay for the passage and also accused the Panamanian authorities of handing over control over the canal to China. On 20 January 2025, the day of his inauguration he said: “We didn’t give it to China. We gave it to Panama. And we are taking it back.”
In turn, Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino insisted that neither his country’s sovereignty nor control over the canal could be negotiated. And in February the Panamanian authorities suddenly announced that they would not extend their participation in China’s Belt and Road initiative. The move was “suddenly” made right after Jose Raul Mulino’s meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Why has the USA declared a state of emergency?
“President Donald Trump is declaring a national emergency to enhance our competitiveness, protect our sovereignty, and strengthen our national and economic security,” reads a statement released by the White House website on 2 April.
The statement noted that the persistent trade deficit had devastated the USA’s manufacturing base, had led to the lack of incentives to increase production capacity, had undermined critical supply chains and had made the USA’s military-industrial complex dependent on foreign adversaries.
To address the situation, Trump invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA) to introduce trade duties against third countries. These will remain in place until Trump determines that the threat arising from by the trade deficit has been eliminated.
The tariffs are necessary to ensure fair trade, protect American workers and reduce the trade deficit, the statement said. “The harmful economic policies and practices of our trading partners undermine our ability to produce essential goods for our people and military in addition to threatening national security,” the document said.
The American tariffs correct the unfairness of existing international trade practices, the White House statement asserted. They also incentivize the relocation of manufacturing facilities to the United States.
“‘Made in America’ is not just a slogan, it is the current administration’s economic and national security priority... President Trump recognizes that growing domestic manufacturing is critical to the USA’s national security,” the document said.
The White House also cited specific numbers. For example, the USA manufacturing sector’s share in the global industrial output totaled 17.4% in 2023. This figure was 28.4% in 2001. Between 1997 and 2024 the USA lost about 5 million processing sector jobs, one of the largest declines in employment in history in this economy branch.
“Access to the U.S. market is a privilege, not a right. The United States will no longer put itself last in matters of international trade in exchange for empty promises,” the White House stated.
Who is affected by the duties?
“Donald Trump has launched a trade war with the world after more than two months of preparation for the main event of his second presidential term. In a solemn setting in the White House’s Rose Garden Trump proclaimed 2 April America’s Emancipation Day and announced that he was imposing sweeping tariffs on U.S. merchandise imports that have not been seen since the turn of the last century,” the BBC writes.
According to Trump’s executive order, the USA is introducing universal duties to the tune of 10% against almost all countries across the globe. They are scheduled to come into force on 5 April. In addition, individual duties in excess of 10% are imposed on tens of countries. According to the White House, the maximum tariffs are imposed on those countries, with which the USA has the largest trade deficit.
The individual duties will come into force on 9 April. They will apply to goods from the European Union (20%), Japan (24%), India (26%), China (34%), the Republic of Korea (25%), Israel (17%), and so on.
In addition, the USA will separately impose duties at the rate of 25% on all imported automobiles as from 3 April.
The Internet noticed that 10% duties are imposed on the uninhabited Heard Island and McDonald Islands in the Indian Ocean. It prompted the Internet users to joke that penguins and seals had been steamrolled by Trump’s tariffs.
However, the executive order to impose tariffs has exceptions. Thus, the United States of America will not impose additional duties on shipments of steel, aluminum, copper as well as gold bullions, automotive parts, pharmaceutics, semiconductors, and some minerals that are not available in the United States.
Meanwhile, the USA has already warned that actions in retaliation to the U.S. duties will lead to escalation. “My advice to every country right now is not to retaliate. Relax, accept it, see how it goes. If you take retaliatory measures, escalation will begin,” said U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Russia and Belarus are not on the tariff list?
Belarus and Russia are absent from the list of countries, against which the USA has enforced the duties. It was pointed out by American journalists who approached the U.S. Treasury Department for clarification.
According to Scott Bessent, the head of the Treasury Department, there’s practically no trade with Russia and Belarus due to sanctions. Consequently, there is no need to enforce the duties against them. “Russia is not included in the list of countries subject to the duties because the USA does not trade with it. The country remains under our sanctions,” Scott Bessent said.
However, his statement is not true. For example, trade turnover between the USA and Russia has indeed decreased in recent years, but it is still greater than that with a number of other countries against which Washington has introduced the duties.
Meanwhile, the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the Axios publication that the existing duties and sanctions against Belarus and Russia are already too high to impose new ones.
Leavitt also noted that the list of countries, which are subject to the tariffs, does not include Canada and Mexico. This is due to the fact that the USA had previously imposed 25% tariffs on these countries.
How is the world reacting?
A number of countries in Europe, Asia, and Latin America have already responded to the tariff policy of the Trump administration, TASS reports. At the same time, the reactions varied. Some lamented and rebuked Trump, others reproached Brussels, while others declared their readiness to introduce retaliatory measures. There were also those who welcomed Washington’s decision.
The head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said she agreed with Trump that “other” countries allegedly exploit flaws of the global trading system to the detriment of the West. She called for a joint effort to counter these steps, emphasizing that the tariffs will not solve the problem. By saying “others” von der Leyen refers to China. In recent years she has constantly accused Beijing of abusing global trade rules. It was the reason for the introduction of the prohibitive duties on Chinese electric vehicles by the European Union.
At the same time the EC chief did not announce specific measures against the USA, calling for a dialog with Washington on trade and promising countermeasures if talks fail. “I deeply regret President Trump’s decision. The world economy will suffer severely, the consequences will be catastrophic for all countries and will hit the most vulnerable hardest,” she said.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the European Parliament’s Committee on Trade Bernd Lange said that the European Union may impose trade duties on American technology corporations such as Apple, Google, and Meta.
Austria has called for increasing the taxes on IT corporations from the USA and for toughening the provisions of the European Union’s Digital Markets Act. “Now we have to start where Donald Trump will get the biggest political blow: with technology companies or goods from Republican states,” said Austrian Minister of Labor and Economy Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer.
In Germany Trump’s tariffs have been compared to the declaration of a trade war. “This is a direct attack on world trade. By dramatically raising customs duties for more than 100 trading partners, the American president is plunging the world into an open trade war,” said Dirk Jandura, head of Federation of German Wholesale, Foreign Trade and Services (BGA).
The German Association of the Automotive Industry said the USA duties were “a challenge for both companies and global supply chains in the automotive industry”.
Acting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz believes Trump’s tariffs are a mistake that will affect the entire world. “Europe will respond to the USA’s decision with unity, strength and proportionality,” Scholz pledged.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called on the EU to adequately respond to the USA duties. “Friendship means partnership. Partnership means real and truly reciprocal duties. Adequate solutions are needed,” Tusk said.
Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Peter Szijjarto said the EU leadership could have negotiated with the United States to cut duties but had not done so, and now its inaction will hit the European Union’s economy. “Europe’s economy and population are once again paying the price for Brussels’ incompetence… The European Commission had to negotiate. They had 2.5 months to do so. They did nothing,” the minister wrote on the social network X. He added that Brussels had turned an economic issue into an ideological one.
An angry reaction came from Kiev. It called the USA duties to the tune of 10% on Ukrainian imports “cynicism of the highest order”. Meanwhile, imports from Ukraine to the United States are quite modest and Kiev admits that the tariffs will not affect the Ukrainian economy much. However, they are still a problem. The tariffs affect the European Union. And the EU allocates money to Ukraine. And if the European economy suffers because of the tariffs, the flow of money to Kiev may decrease.
“The global trade war will hit significantly the economies of our economic and trade partners, primarily the European Union. They will slow down. Respectively they will generate less money, which will reduce the ability to aid us,” said the head of the Ukrainian parliament’s Tax Committee Daniil Getmantsev.
The British government intends to remain calm and work on signing a trade agreement with the United States, UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds stated.
India’s response was also rather restrained. The country’s government said that they are analyzing the impact of the duties on the Indian economy. It was also noted that the USA may reconsider the decision on enforcing the duties if India eliminates the factors causing Washington’s concern.
Tokyo considers the imposition of the duties by the United States as “extremely regrettable”. The Japanese government will push for their reconsideration.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese threatened the USA to use the dispute resolution mechanism provided by the free trade agreement (AUSFTA). “The Australian people have every right to see Trump’s actions as undermining our countries’ free and fair trading relations. The current free trade agreement with the United States also contains a dispute resolution mechanism, but we would like to resolve this issue without resorting to it,” Anthony Albanese said.
The Brazilian government is considering various measures to protect its manufacturers, including contacting the World Trade Organization. “Given that the United States has enjoyed significant and regular surplus in trade with Brazil for the past 15 years, totaling $410 billion, the unilateral imposition of additional duties to the tune of 10% for Brazil under the pretext of the need to restore balance and ‘trade reciprocity’ does not reflect reality,” the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Beijing spoke out against the USA’s trade duties. “China strongly opposes it. We will firmly take countermeasures to protect our own rights and interests,” China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a statement.
The ministry said the tariffs seriously harm the legitimate rights and interests of all countries and are a typical practice of unilateral intimidation. “There are no winners in a trade war. Protectionism is a road to nowhere. China calls on the USA to immediately lift the unilateral tariff measures and properly resolve differences with its trading partners through equitable dialog,” the Ministry of Commerce said.
But in Argentina Trump’s duties were received optimistically. The country’s president Javier Milei went on the social network X to say: “Friends will be friends. Everything is going according to plan. Long live freedom, damn it!”
He also shared messages from users close to the government who usually broadcast the stance of the Argentinian authorities. “Trump announcing the duties has been amazing for Argentina. This is the equivalent of having a free trade agreement,” wrote Agustin Roma, a member of the Buenos Aires Province legislature. According to the lawmaker from the ruling Freedom Advances Party, the duties on Argentina have not exceeded 10% thanks to Milei’s efforts.
By Vita Khanatayeva,
BelTA
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