Taiwanese laptop computer, Italian wine, Indian frozen shrimp, Vietnamese Nike sneakers, Irish butter.
These products are found in homes all over the United States. This is a testament to America’s enduring role as a defender of free trade and its position as the most profitable market for commodities around the world.
They now have added heavy duty on 60 countries that are one of the vast categories subject to additional taxes after President Trump imposed universal tariffs on all US trading partners on Wednesday, imposing additional heavy duty on 60 countries they deemed as “worst criminals” of unfair trade practices.
Amid a rapid shift from decades of trade policy, Trump has enacted a 10% baseline obligation on all goods imported into the United States. Additionally, other countries will be charged at even higher rates of what is called mutual tariffs next week.
The White House has imposed 20% and 34% tariffs on the two largest US trading partners, the European Union and China. Additional collections against China will be added to the 20% tariffs previously imposed by Trump.
Even close allies such as Japan and South Korea were inescapable. Countries like Australia and Brazil weren’t even buying more than they would sell from the US.
President Trump announced tariffs at the White House on Wednesday.
The announcement that Trump welcomed as America’s “liberation day” sent shockwaves around the world, posing asylum in the World Trade War. Investors were surprised by the size and scope of the tariffs, which caused the stock market to fall into the news.
Less than three months later, Trump declared tariffs and imports steel, aluminum and auto parts in Canada, Mexico and China. Wednesday’s executive order included exemptions for semiconductors, medicines and timber. However, analysts believe they have not compromised. They are the products that will be targeted next.
Allies and enemies are rushing to understand Trump’s tariff barrage. Some threatened to retaliate. Others openly forced negotiations, while some quietly sought concessions through the back channel.
China has denounced the United States of “unilateral bullying” and vowed to “take solid measures to protect its own rights and interests.” South Korea has convened an emergency task force and vowed to “put all government resources into overcoming the trade crisis.” In Brazil, President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva’s government has said it is evaluating the retaliatory measures.
Brazil’s parliament will approve the law on Wednesday, allowing the country’s president to retaliate.
In an early morning speech on Thursday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the global economy will suffer “great pain” with tariffs. Encouraging negotiations, she said the block is preparing further measures in addition to retaliatory tariffs already prepared for previous taxes on foreign steel and aluminum.
Asia was particularly hit by Trump’s plans. Vietnam, the beneficiary of companies moving production from China during the first Trump presidency, was slapped with a 46% collection. Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia all dealt with over 30% of import operations. The White House has placed a 26% tariff on imports from India.
For decades, exports have served as a path to economic prosperity to develop Asian countries born out of conflict, crisis or poverty. Latest tariffs have punished countries like Taiwan and Japan, who have managed to modernize their economy through trade. It also blew the outlook for poor countries such as Cambodia and Bangladesh, and still aims to follow that route.
Cambodia, a producer of clothing and footwear, suffered a 49% tariff. The United States is the largest export market in the country.
“As a small country, we just want to survive,” said Sok Eisan, a spokesman for the Cambodian People’s Party of Cambodia’s control.
Cambodia’s China-funded textile mill faces 49% tariffs.
Trump has denounced the sale of cheap goods from these countries due to the cry from the American manufacturing sector. But they also helped keep inflation at bay and lower prices for US consumers.
Saran Sidor, director of the Global South Program at the Institute for Responsible Three-Dimensional Technology in Washington, DC, said tariffs would hit some developing countries the most violently, and at the same time, he would encourage many of the world to move towards order more quickly without the US in its central location.
“When it comes to trade, we are in a multipolar world, and there are alternative markets. Of course, diversification has pain and transaction costs,” he said.
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his country would not respond to retaliatory tariffs and swear by Australia “will not take part in the race to a bottom that leads to higher prices and slower growth.”
In Japan, staff and trade experts were caught off guard by the size of new tariffs facing the country – 24%. It was particularly jarring considering that Japan’s average tariffs on non-agricultural goods are one of the lowest in the world. Japan called the tariff “very unfortunate” and vowed to continue seeking exemptions.
Prime Minister Isba has pledged to increase Japan’s investment to around $1 trillion, focusing on purchasing US products such as liquefied natural gas.
For Suntory, a Japanese distillery in Yamazaki, its chief executive said it believes Japan can lower tariffs in negotiations with the Trump administration.
Before the latest tariffs were announced, Takeshi Niinami, chief executive of Suntory Holdings, the Japanese drink giant known for its premium whiskey brand, said he believes that tariffs can be negotiated as Japan is the largest foreign investor in the United States.
“An era of chaos may continue,” he said. “But in the end, things will stabilize.”
Data analytics firm Exiger calculated that Trump’s announcement would bring new US tariffs of $600 billion a year. The majority of taxes come from 10 countries, with China’s exports accounting for a quarter of the additional tariffs accounting for $149 billion. Vietnamese goods face $63 billion, Taiwanese goods $37 billion, and Japanese exports face tariffs of $36 billion. German and Ireland goods will face $41 billion in additional taxes.
During the first Trump presidency, tech companies moved some production to Vietnam to protect against the possibility of a trade war with China. One third of Vietnam’s exports are now electronic devices.
Apple has moved its Airpod, Watch and iPad production to Vietnam for the past few years. Also, after years of relying solely on Chinese factories, it shifted production of several iPhones to India.
Korean conglomerate Samsung Electronics has invested more than $20 billion in Vietnam since it began opening its factory nearly 20 years ago. Currently, we produce more products in Vietnam than in China. Last year, it produced approximately $70 billion worth of goods at its Vietnamese factory, most of which are due to export.
An electronic factory in Hai Hong, Vietnam.
Trump’s policies complicate decisions for small American businesses. Brenden McMorrow, co-founder of Toymer-based Move2play, based in Torrance, California, said the company has built all of its products in China since it began about nine years ago. However, they began considering factories in Vietnam or India to protect against Chinese import duties.
In Vietnam, factories run by Chinese companies using Chinese materials are found to be less expensive. Instead, I decided to try a test run to manufacture one of the toys in India. This is the decision McMorrow said he would look better with the lofty tariffs imposed on Vietnam. He studied whether it could be manufactured in the US, but he said the cost was about five times higher than in China.
And despite the high cost of tariffs, he does not believe our production is any more viable.
“I don’t think it really makes sense to invest in trying to do this manufacturing in the US if the next president is coming and just reversed the course on all these tariffs. “It makes more sense to stick to where we’re currently manufacturing and not make any major dangerous moves.”
Damien Cave, Jack Nicas, Victoria Kim, Alex Travelli, Choe Sang-Hun, Sui-Lee Wee and David Pierson contributed the report.
