04/04/2025

FRIDAY | APR 4, 2025

16

BIZ & FINANCE

Trump’s sweeping tariffs stoke global trade war o Stock markets sink, China and EU vow countermeasures

In symbolic rebuke, Senate votes to block duties on Canada WASHINGTON: A handful of Senate Republicans broke ranks with US President Donald Trump on Wednesday, joining Democrats to pass a measure that would block his tariffs on Canadian imports. The resolution, supported by four Republicans and all of the chamber’s Democrats, has virtually no chance of becoming law. But it marks a rare, albeit symbolic defeat for Trump on Capitol Hill, where his Republican Party controls both chambers and he has seen little pushback to his rampaging first months in office. The Senate voted 51-48 to overturn the national emergency at the border which Trump declared earlier this year, which he has used to justify saddling Canadian imports with 25% tariffs. But it was a purely symbolic dissent, as House Speaker Mike Johnson, a close Trump ally, is expected to block any vote on the resolution. Trump took to his Truth Social media platform to slam the legislation as a Democratic“ploy”and make clear it is dead on arrival in the House. “The House will never approve it and I, as your President, will never sign it,” he posted. The four Republican senators who voted to pass the measure were Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine – viewed as the two most-centrist party members – as well as Kentucky’s two senators, Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul. Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate. The Senate vote occurred shortly after Trump rolled out his plans to slap fresh import tariffs on products from countries around the globe, an announcement that sent stock markets tumbling. – AFP US levies take aim everywhere, including uninhabited islands WASHINGTON: The world’s remotest corners could not hide from US President Donald Trump’s global tariffs onslaught on Wednesday – even the uninhabited Heard and McDonald Islands. The Australian territory in the sub-Antarctic Indian Ocean was slapped with 10% tariffs on all its exports, despite the archipelago having zero residents – other than many seals, penguins and other birds. Strings of ocean specks around the globe, including Australia’s Cocos (Keeling) Islands and the Comoros off the coast of Africa, were likewise subjected to 10% new tariffs. Another eye-catching inclusion in the tariffs list was Myanmar, which is digging out from an earthquake that left nearly 3,000 people dead, and whose exports to the US will now face 44% in new levies. Britain’s Falkland Islands – population 3,200 people and around one million penguins – got particular punishment. The South Atlantic territory – mostly famous for a 1982 war fought by Britain to expel an Argentinian invasion – was walloped with tariffs of 41%. Argentina only faces 10% new tariffs. According to the Falklands Chamber of Commerce, the territory is ranked 173 in the world in terms of global exports, with only US$306 million of products exported in 2019. – AFP Main Street, and may cause a recession for the US economy,” Consumer Technology Association chief executive Gary Shapiro said in a statement. National Association of Home Builders chairman Buddy Hughes, who said Trump’s tariff announcement would “undoubtedly” raise some construction costs while the US wine Trade Alliance said in a statement that the measures on imported wines would harm American businesses “far more” than their foreign counterparts. Alliance for American Manufacturing president Scott Paul was more upbeat, calling Trump’s announcement “a necessary step in the right direction”. – AFP

(RM3,500) or less – duty-free from China, known as de minimis . The order covers goods from China and Hong Kong and will take effect on May 2, according to the White House, which said the move was intended to curb the flow of fentanyl into the US. Chinese chemical makers are the top suppliers of raw materials purchased by Mexico’s cartels to produce the deadly drug, US anti-narcotics officials say. A Reuters investigation last year showed how traffickers often route these chemicals through the US by exploiting the de minimis rule. Trump is also planning other tariffs targeting semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and potentially critical minerals, the official said. Earlier in the day, the administration said a separate set of tariffs on auto imports that Trump announced last week will take effect today. Trump previously imposed 25% duties on steel and aluminum and extended them to nearly US$150 billion worth of downstream products. Tariff concerns have already slowed manufacturing activity across the globe, while spurring sales of imported products as consumers rush to make purchases before prices rise. Now as the reality of the new tariffs sink in, companies around the world must weigh up how to adjust, with their options limited and unpalatable for their customers. “This is how you sabotage the world’s economic engine while claiming to supercharge it,” said Nigel Green, CEO of global financial advisory deVere Group. “These tariffs will push prices higher on thousands of everyday goods – from phones to food – and that will fuel inflation at a time when it is already uncomfortably persistent.” – Reuters

BRUSSELS: President Donald Trump’s move to slap a 10% tariff on most goods imported to the United States, as well as much higher levies on dozens of rivals and allies alike, has intensified a global trade war that threatens to stoke inflation and stall growth. The sweeping penalties announced against the serene backdrop of the White House Rose Garden on Wednesday immediately unleashed turbulence across world markets and drew condemnation from other leaders now facing the end of an era of trade liberalisation that has shaped the global order for decades. As Asia digested the news yesterday, stock markets in Beijing and Tokyo sank to multi-month lows, with US and European stock futures also pointing to sharp losses as investors scrambled to the safety of bonds and gold. Now facing 54% tariffs on exports to the United States, the world’s No. 2 economy China vowed countermeasures, as did the European Union – Washington’s friends and foes united in criticism of measures they fear will deal a devastating blow to global trade. “The consequences will be dire for millions of people around the globe,” EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement, adding the 27-member bloc was preparing to hit back if talks with Washington failed. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent earlier warned that any such retaliatory moves would only lead to escalation. Among close US allies, the European Union was targeted with a 20% rate, Japan with 24%,

South Korea with 25% and Taiwan with 32%. The base tariffs go into effect on April 5 and the higher reciprocal rates on April 9. Trump said the “reciprocal” tariffs were a response to duties and other non-tariff barriers put on US goods. He argued that the new levies will boost manufacturing jobs at home. “For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far,” Trump said. Outside economists have warned that tariffs could slow the global economy, raise the risk of recession, and increase living costs for the average American family by thousands of dollars. Canada and Mexico, the two largest US trading partners, already face 25% tariffs on many goods and will not face additional levies from Wednesday’s announcement. Trump’s top economist, Stephen Miran, told Fox Business on Wednesday the tariffs would work out well for the US in the long run, even if they cause some initial disruption. “Are there going to be short-term bumps as a result? Absolutely,” Miran, the chairman of Trump’s Council of Economic Advisors, said. The reciprocal tariffs do not apply to certain goods, including copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, lumber, gold, energy and “certain minerals that are not available in the US”, according to a White House fact sheet. Following his remarks, Trump also signed an order to close a trade loophole used to ship low-value packages – those valued at US$800

Trump holding a chart as he announces reciprocal tariffs in the Rose Garden. – AFPPIC

American business groups voice dismay WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s tariff announcement on Wednesday was widely panned by US business lobbying groups, who voiced concern about the impact of the sweeping new duties on their operations. from China, for example, facing an additional tariff totaling 34% on top of existing levies.

and several other top US trading partners will also face new tariffs of at least 20% from April 9. “These broad tariffs are a tax increase that will raise prices for American consumers and hurt the economy,” US Chamber of Commerce chief policy officer Neil Bradley said in a statement. In a recent analysis, Yale University’s Budget Lab estimated that a 20% across-the-board tariff on imports could cost the average US household at least US$3,400 (RM15,072) – a painful cost-of-living adjustment for most Americans. “President Trump’s sweeping global and reciprocal tariffs are massive tax hikes on Americans that will drive inflation, kill jobs on

“Applying new tariffs at this scale will create change and disruption that restaurant operators will have to navigate to keep their restaurants open,” the National Restaurant Association said in a statement. “The stakes for manufacturers could not be higher. The high costs of new tariffs threaten investment, jobs, supply chains and, in turn, America’s ability to outcompete other nations and lead as the preeminent manufacturing superpower,” said Jay Timmons, the president of the National Association of Manufacturers. Alongside China, the European Union, India,

During a speech in the White House’s Rose Garden, Trump unveiled a baseline 10% tariff against almost all US trading partners in the world from April 5, and an additional top-up rate from April 9 for other countries currently imposing tariff and non-tariff barriers against American companies. Trade groups reacted with dismay to the measures, which would see most goods imported