President Trump announced sweeping levies on countries across the world. Washington’s partners have been bracing for the fallout.
Jeanna Smialek and Natalie Kitroeff
Jeanna Smialek reported from Brussels and Natalie Kitroeff from Mexico City.
President Trump’s announcement of sweeping tariffs on America’s trading partners has widened the rift between the United States and some of its closest allies while reconfiguring the global economic order.
Mr. Trump’s plan, which he unveiled on Wednesday and is calling “reciprocal,” would impose a wave of tariffs on dozens of countries. Among major economies most affected were the European Union, which will face 20 percent tariffs under the plan, and China, which will absorb an additional 34 percent on top of existing levies.
“The scope and size of tariffs are both substantial and confirm the worst fears of the proponents of free trade,” said Eswar Prasad, a professor at the Dyson School at Cornell University. “Trump is setting off a new era of protectionism that will reverberate worldwide.”
Mexico and Canada, two of the United States’ biggest trading partners, would not be subject to any new tariffs beyond the levies the president had previously announced, on imported vehicles, vehicle parts, steel, aluminum and any other goods not traded under the rules of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
The new levies include a base line 10 percent tariff on all countries except Canada and Mexico, as well as additional tariffs based on the tariffs other nations apply to U.S. exports and other barriers the administration has deemed unfair.
Asian countries were some of the hardest hit. Tariffs on Japan and India will be more than 20 percent, with nations like Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka facing even steeper rates.
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