US president Donald Trump on Saturday warned American of tough times ahead, after he unleashed a wave of tariffs on countries all across the world. He urged Americans to “hang tough”, while also promising historic results if they managed to withstand the pain to come.
This statement comes as countries around the world have begun to retaliate against the US with tariffs, signaling a possible trade war that could upset the global economy.
Taking to his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said “We have been the dumb and helpless ‘whipping post,’ but not any longer. We are bringing back jobs and businesses like never before”. he also added “This is an economic revolution, and we will win, Hang tough, it won’t be easy, but the end result will be historic.”
These things takes place as the 10% baseline tariffs imposed by Trump on all US imports is about to come into effect after midnight, which would hit most US goods from Mexico and Canada, who are one of the US’s closest trade partners. While an address the White House stated, that the trade gaps were driven by an “absence of reciprocity” in relationships and other policies like “exorbitant value-added taxes.” It also said that by April 9th, around 60 countries who trade with US, that includes the European Union, Japan and China , are set to face even higher rates tailored to each economy.
China’s Response to Trump’s Tariffs
China who has been slapped with 34% tariffs by the US has decided to fire back at it on Friday by announcing it’s own retaliatory tariffs at similar rate. Beijing also announced that it would sue the United States at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and restrict the export of rare earth elements used in high-end medical and electronics technology.
Also Read: Donald Trump reacts to China’s retaliatory tariffs, says ‘they played it wrong’
The tariffs that Trump put on China are set to apply from next week onwards. In light of China Imposing tariffs on the US Trump said in his post that “China has been hit much harder than the USA, not even close” also adding that, “They, and many other nations, have treated us unsustainably badly.”
Impact on Global Stock Markets
Wall Street plummeted on Friday, echoing sharp market declines across Asia and Europe. Economists have cautioned that the new tariffs may slow economic growth and increase inflation. While President Trump’s latest tariffs come with notable exemptions, they do not add to the recently implemented 25% duties on steel, aluminum, and automobile imports.
According to the White House, certain products—such as copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, lumber, “critical minerals,” and energy goods—are temporarily excluded.
However, investigations have been launched into copper and lumber, which could lead to additional tariffs. Trump has also signaled potential duties on pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, suggesting that these exclusions may be short-lived. Canada and Mexico are not impacted by the latest measures, as they are already subject to separate tariffs of up to 25% on goods entering the U.S. outside the North American trade agreement.
Countries Planning to hit back at the US
The EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic in an announcement said the bloc, which faces a 20-percent tariff, will act in “a calm, carefully phased, unified way” and allow time for talks. But he added that the block “won’t stand idly by.” France and Germany meanwhile have said that the EU could respond by imposing a tax on US technology companies.
In Asia, Japan’s prime minister Shigeru Ishiba had also called for a “calm-headed” approach after Trump unveiled 24-percent tariffs on Japanese-made goods.
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