23/02/2026

BIZ & FINANCE MONDAY | FEB 23, 2026

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Asian economies weigh impact of fresh uncertainties

TAIPEI: US trading partners in Asia were weighing fresh uncertainties this weekend after President Donald Trump announced a new tariff on imports, hours after the Supreme Court struck down many of the sweeping levies he used to launch a global trade war. The court’s ruling invalidated a number of tariffs that the Trump administration had imposed on Asian export powerhouses from China and South Korea to Japan and Taiwan, the world’s largest chipmaker and a key player in tech supply chains. Within hours, Trump said he would impose a new 10% duty on US imports from all countries starting tomorrow, which he raised to 15% on Saturday. The levies, under a different law, are set for 150 days, prompting analysts to warn that more measures could follow, threatening more confusion for businesses and investors. Before the ruling, Trump’s tariff push had strained Washington’s diplomatic relations across Asia, particularly for export-reliant economies integrated into US-bound supply chains. In Japan, a government spokesman said on Saturday that Tokyo “will carefully examine the content of this ruling and the Trump administration’s response to it, and respond appropriately”. Itsunori Onodera, an executive of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party and a former defence minister, called Trump’s new tariffs “outrageous” yesterday. “As an ally, I’m worried this will only accelerate countries distancing themselves from the US,” Onodera, the LDP tax policy chief, who is not in government, told a talk programme on Fuji Television. China, which is preparing to host Trump in late March, has not responded to the latest tariff moves with the country on an extended holiday. But a senior financial official in China-ruled Hong Kong described the US situation as a “fiasco”. Christopher Hui, Hong Kong’s secretary for financial services and the treasury, said Trump’s new levy served to underscore Hong Kong’s “unique trade advantages”. “This shows the stability of Hong Kong’s policies and our certainty ... it shows global investors the importance of predictability,” Hui told a media briefing on Saturday

o Trump vows to impose new global import levy of 15% after court loss

Trump, flanked by Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and Solicitor-General D. John Sauer, holds a press briefing at the White House following the Supreme Court’s ruling. – REUTERSPIC

Massimiliano Giansanti, president of Italian farmers’ group Confagricoltura, said the US ruling “dismantles the entire legal basis” for Trump’s tariffs, but warned it complicated things for exporters just as they were adapting to American tariffs. “All this generates deep instability at a time when we need certainty and have begun a process together with our US importers,“ he said. In Ireland, whiskey exporters are waiting to see what happens next before taking action, said Eoin Ó Catháin, director of the Irish Whiskey Association, adding political negotiations and de-escalation were more likely to resolve tariff challenges. “This isn’t a silver bullet to get rid of tariffs. This is just another complication, it’s another twist in the story.” – Reuters Thailand’s Trade Policy and Strategy Office head Nantapong Chiralerspong said the ruling might even benefit the country’s exports as uncertainty drove a fresh round of “front-loading”, where shippers race to move goods to the US, fearing even higher tariffs. – Reuters month to lower what Trump calls “reciprocal” tariffs. Even before Trump raised his new levy to 15%, analysts said the court ruling might offer little relief for the global economy. They warned of looming confusion as trading nations brace for moves by Trump to find other means of using levies to circumvent the ruling.

“New tariffs based on a different legal basis are possible at any time.” Peter Sand, chief analyst at freight pricing platform Xeneta, said political risk remained for shippers, with trends to de-risk supply chains an “irreversible trend”. “The damage to many shippers’ supply chains is largely done and probably won’t be undone,“ he said. French cosmetics association FEBEA, which has firms like L’Oreal as members, said it was “very cautious” on the ruling and would watch how the U.S. government responded, including with potential new tariffs. “We are all used to the twists and turns on this subject of customs duties,” said FEBEA secretary-general Emmanuel Guichard. was monitoring the situation closely, noting that the US government had yet to determine how to fully implement its trade deals with many countries. “While the initial impact on Taiwan appears limited, the government will closely monitor developments and maintain close communication with the US to understand specific implementation details and respond appropriately,” a Cabinet statement said. Taiwan has signed two recent deals with the US – a memorandum of understanding last month that committed Taiwan to invest US$250 billion, and a deal was signed this

Steve Ovara, chair of the International Trade Practice Group at law firm King & Spalding, said that companies his firm advises, from large US manufacturers to consumer and technology groups, mostly expected any relief from tariffs to be short-lived. “The major issue everybody’s going to be dealing with for at least the short term is some additional uncertainty,” he said. Wolfgang Grosse Entrup, managing director of German chemicals and pharmaceutical lobby VCI, which represents firms like BASF, Bayer and Evonik, agreed. “For our firms, this isn’t the start of a phase of stability, but a new round of uncertainty. Anyone who believes hits, supply shifts and withdrawals. Friday’s ruling concerns only the tariffs launched by Trump on the basis of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, intended for national emergencies. Trade policy monitor Global Trade Alert estimated that by itself, the ruling cuts the trade-weighted average US tariff almost in half from 15.4% to 8.3%. For those countries on higher US tariff levels, the change is more dramatic. For China, Brazil and India, it will mean double-digit percentage-point cuts, although to still-high levels. In Taiwan, the government said it

when asked how the new tariffs would affect the city’s economy. Hong Kong operates as a separate customs territory from mainland China, a status that has shielded it from direct exposure to US tariffs targeting Chinese goods. While Washington has imposed duties on mainland exports, Hong Kong-made products have generally faced lower tariff rates, allowing the city to maintain trade flows even as Sino-US tensions escalated. As Trump’s levies escalated through 2025 and early 2026, corporate disclosures tracked by Reuters showed firms across the Asia-Pacific region reporting financial

For Europe Inc, US tariff relief comes with a sting in the tail MILAN: From European wine makers to chemical companies and distillers, the US Supreme Court ruling knocking down a large part of President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs comes with a sting in the tail: an even more uncertain trade outlook. boomerang effect, producing further uncertainty and a freeze on orders while operators wait for a clearer regulatory framework,” said Paolo Castelletti, secretary-general of Italian wine association UIV. was not clear if or when there would be any refunds. this means the tariff conflict is over is mistaken,“ he said.

The U.S. is the top market for Italian wines with some €1.9 billion (RM9 billion) in exports in 2024, making up almost a quarter of Italy’s total wine shipments globally. Many firms cautioned that Trump would likely look to other avenues to impose similar tariffs, dulling the benefit of lower levies, while the move could stoke tensions between the US and major trade partners. Tariff refunds will also be hard to get. Responding to the ruling, Trump announced new global tariffs of 10%, later revised to 15%, for an initial 150-day period and acknowledged it

In a decision that will ripple through the global economy, the top US court struck down Trump’s sweeping tariffs imposed under a law meant for use in national emergencies, handing a stinging defeat to the Republican president. But while many businesses cheered after lengthy legal battles against tariffs, European trade groups, companies and analysts worried that the ruling may make trade relations even more messy after hard-struck trade deals last year. “This ruling ... risks creating a