Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
Rabat – US President Donald Trump has sparked a new round of controversy and chaos to the global economy after he imposed a fresh wave of tariffs against China and dozens of partners.
As part of his larger “Liberation Day” policies to put tariffs on countries, Trump has officially announced he is going through with his threat to tack on a 50% duty on China, raising the total tariff to 104%.
Trump announced on Tuesday at the Republican National Congressional Committee that 104% duties on imports from China will take place shortly after midnight.
At the gathering, Trump openly criticized the former administration’s economic policies under former President Joe Biden. As a part of his 2024 campaign messaging, the current US president often remarked that the US has not been hard enough on other countries when it comes to global trade policies.
“Now it’s our turn to do the ripping,” he said at the dinner, accusing China of “ripping off” the US “right and left.”
He also accused China of manipulating its currency.
“You got to hand it to them. They’re manipulating their currency today as an offset against the tariffs,” he claimed.
He further slammed Biden for offering a grant of $6.6 billion to manufacturing giant TSMC, saying: “If you don’t build your plant here, you’re going to pay a big tax.”
Biden granted TSMC the grant through the 2022 Chips and Sciences Act, seeking to help the company bring some of its most advanced manufacturing to the US.
Global response
China reacted to US threats and duty announcement, saying that it would take resolute and forceful measures to protect itself.
Yesterday, China’s Commerce Ministry said it “firmly opposes” the additional 50% tariffs on its imports, calling it “a mistake upon a mistake.”
Following Trump’s decision, economic experts, businesses as well as banking organizations around the world responded, pledging a thorough assessment to analyze the effect Trump’s tariffs will have on the economy.
Bank of Japan governor Kazuo Ueda told his country’s parliament that the bank will be on the watch to monitor the backlash of Trump’s move on the Japanese economy.
“Domestic and overseas economic uncertainties have heightened due to US auto and reciprocal tariffs,” he said in a public statement.
The new tariffs will further exacerbate concerns as the world’s economy has been shaken by broader baseline 10% tariffs that Trump slapped on many countries over the weekend.
Last week, Trump announced he would be implementing a unilateral 10% tariff on all imports from various nations, with higher levies on goods from different key partners.
The decision prompted remarkable market sell-offs across the world.
“European markets slumped again in early trading on Wednesday morning, as the major indices fell in the UK, Germany, France, and Spain,” the Guardian wrote, noting that the new falls are causing a tumultuous day on Asian markets.
European countries are expected to approve the EU’s countermeasures against Trump’s tariffs, and Canada is also following suit in pushing back.
Morocco also received the baseline 10% tariff, notably lower than the 30% the US imposed on Algeria and the 28% on Tunisia.
The stock market and global economy is reeling from these new tariffs. S&P 500, a stock market index that tracks the stock performance of 500 leading companies listed on the stock exchanges in the US, reportedly suffered its largest loss since the benchmark’s creation in the 1950s.
“It is now nearing a bear market, defined as 20% below its most recent high,” Reuters reported, noting that US treasuries are also affected by the market turmoil.
