The news about the new package of tariffs announced by Donald Trump shook the world – and not only economically. Governments on both sides of the Atlantic greeted the US decision with alarm, outrage and open warnings of consequences. From Berlin to Beijing, from Paris to Ottawa, statements are being made about the threat to the global trading system, which has ensured economic stability for decades. The leaders of the leading states, with the exception of Trump himself, unanimously believe that these actions are a path to an economic confrontation in which there will be no winners. The European Union, Great Britain, Canada, and China have already made it clear that they will not remain silent and yield.
Markets in a panic: Trump’s tariffs have triggered a stock market crash and fears of another recession
Global markets wobbled and Wall Street suffered its worst day since 2020. The reason is new tariffs announced by Donald Trump, which could trigger a global trade war and push the US economy into recession.
On Thursday, US stock indexes collapsed: Dow Jones lost more than 1,600 points (minus 4%), Nasdaq fell by 6% due to a sharp drop in the shares of giants Nvidia, Apple and Amazon. The S&P 500 lost 4.8%. In just one day, $3.1 trillion disappeared from the market — a record drop since March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic caused panic and financial crisis around the world.
The dollar also did not hold up: the WSJ Dollar Index fell 1.3%, the most in a year. This shows the concern of investors about the future economic growth of the United States and the possible curtailment of investment flows. Investors rushed to the “quiet haven” — American bonds. JPMorgan has already raised the probability of a US recession to 60%.
Countries are not silent
Europe and Canada are already preparing a response. French President Emmanuel Macron has threatened mirror actions against American tech giants, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced his readiness to introduce a 25% tariff on American cars in response to Trump’s actions.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez says that “protectionist” tariffs are against the interests of millions of citizens both in Europe and the United States. As reported by the publication The Guardian, the EU is likely preparing corresponding tariffs on US consumer and industrial goods. Among the likely targets of the tariff are symbolic products such as orange juice, jeans and Harley-Davidson motorcycles. The tariffs are expected to be announced in mid-April in response to steel and aluminum tariffs previously imposed by Trump.
At the same time, Donald Trump himself reacts with typically optimistic bravado: “Everything is going great. Markets will still soar“, he told reporters. Although he left room for negotiations, having already hinted at new tariffs — this time on pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.
Everything falls
Shares of familiar brands: Nike, Target, HP, Stellantis fell sharply on the stock exchange. The latter is even forced to temporarily stop plants in Mexico and Canada. The price of oil is minus more than 6%. Even gold, long considered a safe-haven asset in times of uncertainty, has seen a sell-off.
Despite the shock effect of the news, traders remain calm. But investors are beginning to question: Is it really worth keeping money in stocks if the world is entering a period of new tariffs, economic turbulence and diplomatic conflicts?
Infographic: IA “FACT”
Trump’s tariff strike: an economic mistake or a geopolitical challenge?
The radicality of Washington’s move made many think not only about the economy, but also about deeper geopolitical parallels. German Economy Minister Robert Habek does not hide his anxiety: he compares Trump’s new tariff strike with the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Both cases, he said, are different in form, but similar in consequences: destabilization, panic, a threat to a system that seemed unshakable.
Habek called the US tariffs the biggest shock to global trade in the last 90 years. And he did not hide his indignation at Trump’s rhetoric, which portrays the USA as a victim of globalization. “This is not true“, the minister noted, recalling that America is the main beneficiary of the division of labor in the world. Its economy grew faster than Europe’s, and if gains do not reach every American, it is not the world’s fault, but the domestic politics of the United States.
Acting Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz as well named these tariffs are a serious economic mistake, “an attack on the trade order that has created prosperity around the world».
Trump’s blind rage: tariffs – even for islands where only penguins and American soldiers live
An Italian newspaper published an article under this title The Republic. What is the publication outraged by?
The new list of tariffs introduced by the Trump administration is not limited to industrial giants or competing countries. Even remote pieces of land lost in the oceans fell under the hot hand – such as Herd Island in the Antarctic or Norwegian Jan Mayen, where, apart from the harsh nature, there is almost no one.
And one of the strangest cases is the island of Diego Garcia. This tiny area in the Indian Ocean is home to a joint British-American military base. There is no permanent civilian population here — only about 4,000 military and technical personnel. But even such places, seemingly far from global trade, were not spared by the new wave of tariffs.
“Trump’s Day of Deliverance” — how a new tariff storm could shake the world
In another story, Italy’s La Repubblica called Trump’s new initiative a “Day of Liberation” — not from enemies, but from the remnants of globalization. This is not just an economic move, but a real tsunami of tariffs, capable of washing away the last established rules of world trade, destroying alliances, provoking new conflicts and hitting supply chains from warehouses in China to supermarkets in Naples.
Ahead, the publication says, is a period of uncertainty that will affect everyone: prices, jobs, economic growth — everything is at risk. This is no longer just an internal political pre-election game, but a signal for a global offensive.
American financiers also do not hide their concerns. Goldman Sachs calculated: a customs attack could cost America itself — more inflation, less growth, higher risks of unemployment.
And the darkest comparison goes back to 1930, the time of the Great Depression. Then Congress passed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, which raised tariffs to 20% on tens of thousands of imported goods. Result? The economic crisis only deepened. History, it seems, goes in a circle — and starts again from the United States, as it did almost a hundred years ago.
Trump-style tariffs: One rate for all — and even higher for allies
As written Wall Street Journal, despite all Donald Trump’s claims about “reciprocity”, his new tariffs can only be tentatively called fair. According to the plan of the ex-president, all countries of the world, without exception, must pay 10% of the basic tariff for the right to enter the American market. But this is only the beginning.
China, the main rival, will receive a 34% tariff. However, the allies are not in favor either: Japan will pay 24%, the European Union – 20%, India – also 24%. Even the US’s closest partners are now forced to play by Washington’s new rules.
Such actions, the publication warns, only untie China’s hands: Beijing gets a great opportunity to strengthen ties with those whom America pushes away. South Korea and Japan are the first in the risk zone, but Europe is already on the horizon.
Now that access to the US market is in question, more and more countries may choose another center of gravity — and are unlikely to support the US in a tough technology battle with China, particularly over restrictions on Huawei or other high-tech companies.
