The US tariffs put the global economy into unrest on the first day: the courses also collapsed on Wall Street. Minister Lutnick meanwhile promised negotiations-but only with states that give in to the US demands.
U.S. trade minister Howard Lutnick assumes that the huge customs package was announced that affected countries rethink their trade policy. “I expect most countries to start to examine their trade policy towards the United States more precisely and stop harassing us,” said Lutnick on US television. “That is the reorganization of fair trade.”
“Highly threatening for global economy”, Anja Kohl, HR, to reactions of the stock exchanges
He ruled out that Trump completely deals with the tariffs. The US President will not withdraw the announcements of the previous day, Lutnick told CNN. Trump will only negotiate if other countries reduce their tariffs and other trade barriers. “And only then will Donald Trump make a deal with every country if they really change their behavior.”
Lutnick left open whether the United States would reduce its tariffs in return. “We are talking to all the big countries in the world. We have been holding these conversations for over a month.” The customs package was foreseeable. The crucial question is whether other countries would “treat” the United States in the future. “The answer is that this will happen over time – American products will better sell on the world markets.”
Trump spokeswoman: “It’s not about negotiations”
Trump’s spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, on the other hand, left open to what extent the US government is now ready for negotiations on the tariffs. “The president made it clear yesterday that it was not about negotiations,” she said. Trump is “always ready to go on the phone to answer calls”. However, the trading partners would have had 70 years to do the right thing. “They decided against it. They ripped the American workers over the table, they shifted our jobs abroad. The president put an end to this yesterday.”
Trump himself compared his global tariffs with a risky but necessary medical operation for the domestic economy: “The patient lives and recovers,” he wrote in capital letters on his online platform Truth Social. His forecast is: the patient will be “stronger, larger, better and more resistant” in the future.
Dow Jones breaks a
There is still no trace of relaxation on the US exchange. After the start of the trade, the share prices on Wall Street broke significantly. The Dow-Jones index of the default values fell three percent to 41,173 points. The broader S&P 500 gave 3.7 percent to 5,461 points. The index of the Nasdaq technology agency broke up 4.8 percent to 16,760 points and headed for its blackest day since Corona pandemic in March 2020.
WTO expects worldwide decline in goods trading
The world trade organization (WTO) fears a decline in global goods by one percent due to the planned and already introduced US tariffs. This corresponds to a correction of the latest forecast by 4 percentage points, said WTO boss Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. She said deeply concerned. The situation could escalate to an customs war with possible retaliation measures, which then further affects the trade.
Mexico is looking for Customs reservations for carmaker
Other countries discuss how they want to react to the tariffs. Mexico, for example, is looking for paths to minimize the consequences for German car manufacturers in the Latin American country. According to President Claudia Sheinbaum, Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are ready to adapt their production to comply with the original rules of the North American free trade agreement USMCA. Mexico wants to continue negotiating with Washington about preference treatment for auto imports as part of the agreement.
The agreement had freed imports of tariffs if the value of the value in North America is at least 75 percent. Trump still imposed tariffs of 25 percent on auto imports, for auto parts there is initially a special regulation under USMCA.
Canada rises against tariffs on US auto imports
Canada has already reacted and imposed on certain vehicle imports from the United States. Ottawa will take all cars that were not produced as part of the North American trade pact in USMCA with 25 percent import fees, announced the Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. The measures should cause maximum damage to the US economy, but the Canadian economy spare as far as possible.
Criticism also came from France: President Emmanuel Macron spoke of a “brutal and unfounded decision”. Of the goods worth 500 billion euros that Europeans export to the United States, their more than 70 percent affected by tariffs. “As you can see, this is a massive impact that will affect all sectors of the European economy and export.”
Meloni: “This is not a disaster”
The Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, on the other hand, warned: “We must not fuel alarmism, it is not a disaster.” The announced trade tariffs are a mistake, but their effects should not be overestimated and the reaction must be carefully weighed, she said in an interview with the state Italian television station RAI. “I am not convinced that it is best to react to tariffs with other tariffs.”
