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WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump’s punishing tariffs on dozens of economies came into force yesterday, including over 100 percent in levies against Chinese goods, sending markets into a tailspin again as the devastating global trade war intensified.
Following the sweeping 10 percent tariffs that took effect over the weekend, rates on imports to the United States from exporters like the European Union or Japan rose further on Wednesday.
China – Washington’s top economic rival but also a major trading partner – is the hardest hit, with tariffs imposed on its products since Trump returned to the White House now reaching a staggering 104 percent.
In Manila, Trade Secretary Cristina Roque told reporters the Philippines is set to meet today with other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to discuss the bloc’s response to Trump’s reciprocal tariffs announced last week.
“So there, we will really discuss what will be the stand of everyone,” Roque said. “But of course, we have an advantage of the 17 percent tariff. Our tariff is lower compared to our ASEAN neighbors.”
At a meeting on Tuesday, the administration’s economic team agreed that retaliation is off the table, Roque said.
Trump said on Tuesday his government was working on tailored deals with trading partners, with the White House saying it would prioritize allies like Japan and South Korea.
His top trade official Jamieson Greer also told the Senate that Argentina, Vietnam and Israel were among those who had offered to reduce their tariffs.
Trump told a dinner with fellow Republicans on Tuesday night that countries were “dying” to make a deal. “I’m telling you, these countries are calling us up kissing my ass,” he said.
But Beijing has shown no signs of standing down, vowing to fight a trade war “to the end” and promising countermeasures to defend its interests.
China’s retaliatory tariffs of 34 percent on US goods are due to enter in force at 12:01 a.m. local time on Thursday.
The US president believes his policy will revive America’s lost manufacturing base by forcing companies to relocate to the United States.
Inflation concerns
But many business experts and economists question how quickly – if ever – this can take place, warning of higher inflation as the tariffs raise prices.
Trump said Tuesday the United States was “taking in almost $2 billion a day” from tariffs. He originally unveiled a 34 percent additional tariff on Chinese goods.
But after China countered with its own tariff of the same amount on American products, Trump piled on another 50 percent duty.
Counting existing levies imposed in February and March, that takes the cumulative tariff increase for Chinese goods during Trump’s second presidency to 104 percent.
Trump has insisted the ball was in China’s court, saying Beijing “wants to make a deal, badly, but they don’t know how to get it started.”
Late Tuesday, Trump also said the United States would announce a major tariff on pharmaceuticals “very shortly.”
Separately, Canada said that its tariffs on certain US auto imports will come into force Wednesday.
After trillions in equity value were wiped off global bourses in the last days, markets in Asia came under pressure again yesterday, with Hong Kong plunging more than three percent and Japan’s Nikkei sinking 2.7 percent.
The markets accelerated their losses as the new tariffs came into effect, with Taiwan stocks closing down 5.8 percent in the afternoon.
Ahead of European markets’ open, stock futures were also indicating steep drops ahead. Foreign exchange markets likewise witnessed ructions, with the South Korean won falling to its lowest level against the dollar since 2009 this week.
China’s offshore yuan also fell to an all-time low against the US dollar, as Beijing’s central bank moved to weaken the yuan yesterday for what Bloomberg said was the fifth day in a row.
Analyst Stephen Innes said, however, that “letting the yuan grind lower at this measured pace won’t offset the blow from a full-blown tariff barrage.”
“The levies are simply too big. China is trying to thread the needle, but the runway is short,” he warned.
Oil prices slumped, with the West Texas Intermediate closing below $60 for the first time since April 2021.
EU appeals for calm
The European Union has sought to cool tensions, with the bloc’s chief Ursula von der Leyen warning against worsening the trade conflict in a call with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.
She stressed stability for the world’s economy, alongside “the need to avoid further escalation,” said an EU readout.
The Chinese premier told von der Leyen that his country could weather the storm, saying it “is fully confident of maintaining sustained and healthy economic development.”
The EU – which Trump has criticized bitterly over its tariff regime – may unveil its response next week to new 20 percent levies it faces.
In retaliation against US steel and aluminum levies that took effect last month, the EU plans tariffs of up to 25 percent on American goods ranging from soybeans to motorcycles, according to a document seen by AFP.
Musk: Navarro dumber than a sack of bricks
In one public sign of friction over tariffs, key Trump ally Elon Musk described senior White House trade advisor Peter Navarro as “dumber than a sack of bricks.”
Musk, who has signaled his opposition to Trump’s trade policy, hit out after Navarro described his Tesla company as “a car assembler that wants cheap foreign parts.”
In Manila, Foundation for Economic Freedom president Calixto Chikiamco said his group supports the stand of the Marcos administration to negotiate with the US by offering concessions and reductions in import restrictions on US goods.
“While the Philippines enjoys the second lowest tariff rates from the Trump tariffs after Singapore, nonetheless, Philippine exports to the US, primarily electronics, will be affected. It would be good for the Philippines to offer more liberal rules, particularly on US agricultural imports, since the country is much dependent on food imports,” Chikiamco said in a Viber message.
He said allowing more US imports of agricultural products, particularly corn, can help make food more affordable to Filipino consumers. The Philippines has long been pushing for a Free Trade Agreement with the US.
“During Trump’s first term in office, his administration was open to forge an FTA with the Philippines, compared to (former US president Joe) Biden, who refused to do so. Therefore, there’s a greater chance under Trump 2.0 for a US-Philippines FTA,” Chikiamco said. – AFP
