Closest allies have warned that nothing is off the table after President Donald Trump launched his ‘mother of all trade wars’ in his quest to make America great again.
Trump last night said that he would impose a 10 per cent baseline tariff on all imports to the United States and higher duties on dozens of the country’s biggest trading partners, deepening a trade war that he kicked off on his return to the White House.
The sweeping duties would erect new barriers around the world’s largest consumer economy, reversing decades of trade liberalisation that have shaped the global order.
Trading partners are expected to respond with countermeasures of their own that could lead to dramatically higher prices for everything from bicycles to wine. US stock futures sank following his announcement.
“It’s our declaration of independence,” Trump said at an event in the White House Rose Garden. Trump displayed a poster that listed reciprocal tariffs, including 34pc on China and 20pc on the European Union, as a response to duties put on US goods.
A White House official said those penalties will take effect on April 9 and will apply to about 60 countries in all.
The baseline 10pc tariff will take effect on Saturday, the official said.
Following his remarks, Trump signed an order to remove a ‘de minimis’ tariff exemption on low-cost products. Trump is also planning other tariffs targeting semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and potentially critical minerals, the official said.
Trump’s barrage of penalties has rattled financial markets and businesses that have relied on trading arrangements that have been in place since the middle of last century.
Reacting to the 10pc tariffs on UK goods, British Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said, “The US is ‘our closest ally’ but ‘nothing is off the table’.
“We have a range of tools at our disposal and we will not hesitate to act. We will continue to engage with UK businesses including on their assessment of the impact of any further steps we take.”
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, seen as close to Trump, said that tariffs introduced by his administration were ‘wrong’ and would not benefit the United States.
“In any case, as always, we will act in the interest of Italy and its economy, also engaging with other European partners,” she added.”
“We are going to fight these tariffs with countermeasures,” said Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
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