US President Donald Trump’s announcement of broad “reciprocal tariffs” on imports to the United States has sent shockwaves through global markets and prompted stern responses from world leaders. With a baseline 10 percent tariff on all imports and significantly higher rates for countries Trump described as having “unfair” trade relationships with the US, markets worldwide experienced immediate downturns.
European markets fell by 2 percent, Japan’s Nikkei plunged 4 percent, and India’s Sensex dropped more than 300 points. International Monetary Fund managing director Kristalina Georgieva warned that Trump’s tariff campaign posed “a significant risk to the global outlook at a time of sluggish growth,” while European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen promised retaliation, stating the bloc was “prepared to respond”.
Nearly 60 key trading partners of the US are part of the list of “worst offenders” which have higher customised reciprocal tariffs. These are either countries with a large trade deficit with the US or those the Trump government sees as opposed to American interests. These tariffs will come into effect on April 9.
There is a second tariff of 10 percent which will come into effect on April 5 and is applicable to a few countries such as the UK, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Turkey, Argentina and Colombia.
Meanwhile, this is how newspapers in some of these nations covered the development.
China
Accusing China of “taking tremendous advantage” of the United States and imposing “67 percent tariff” on items imported from the US, Trump levied a “discounted reciprocal tariff” of 34 percent drawing defiant responses from the Chinese government.
The Chinese government’s response to Trump dominated the frontpage of Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post. “Beijing Vows to Hit back at U.S. ‘Bullying’” read the paper’s seven-column headline. According to the accompanying story, Beijing had accused Washington of “typical unilateral bullying”. The daily noted that Beijing’s tit-for-tat response had “so far stopped short of details.” It said that Chinese officials had called for dialogue to resolve the trade war.
In Communist Party of China-run China Daily, Trump’s tariff war occupied only a single-space column. According to a headline in the Beijing-based paper, “US faces blowback from latest tariff hikes”. The newspaper said that foreign analysts believe that the United States' latest wave of tariff hikes will strengthen China’s trade cooperation with its other key trading partners. It noted the Chinese commerce minister’s emphasis on enhancing coordination with the EU, Japan and South Korea on key trading issues.
Japan
Trump also hiked the tariff for Japan, a key trading partner, to 24 percent, sending the Japanese market into a freefall.
Tokyo-based Yomiuri Shimbun, which dedicated most of its frontpage to Trump’s tariff announcements, led with "continuous" fall of Japanese and US stocks.
The Japan Time’s frontpage headline read “U.S. tariffs widen chasm with allies.” The newspapers said Asian countries like Japan and India, where tariffs have been increased by more than 20 percent, were going to be some of the “hardest hit” countries.
Sri Lanka
The focal point for the leading frontpage story in the state-owned newspaper of Sri Lanka, Daily News, was the government's hope of getting the White House to reduce the tariff on the island nation. The US has slapped the archipelago with a 44 percent tariff.
Daily Mirror highlighted how Trump’s tariff could affect Sri Lanka’s economy. “USA Tariffs slap significant risks to SL economy”, read its headline.
Bangladesh
In neighbouring Bangladesh, where import tariff has been hiked to a whopping 37 percent, newspapers cautioned about the repercussions on the country’s exports.
The page 1 headline of Bangla newspaper Prothom Alo warned about Trump’s counter tariffs exposing Bangladesh's exports to a “big blow”. It also published a cartoon depicting the US President blowing up the world economy.
A frontpage headline in The Dhaka Tribune warned about Bangladesh’s export earnings expected decline in the wake of the tariff hike.
Bangladesh’s financial daily The Financial Express also took note of Trump’s tariff stoking “worry in trade circles” and highlighted how the hikes could negatively impact the country’s apparel makers for whom the United States is the single-largest market.
Pakistan
In Pakistan, which has been hit with a 29 percent “reciprocal” tariff, the government’s slashing of power bills pulled the focus away from Trump’s tariff overhaul. While covering the tariff hike, front pages also focused more on its global impact rather than how the country would be affected.
Leading English daily Dawn’s headline read: “World braces for price hike after tariff bombshell by Trump”.
“Trump tariffs give global economy jitters”, read the headline in The Express Tribune.
EU nations
The European Union has been subjected to a customised tariff rate of 20 percent. US imports make up for 18.5 percent of the total imported by the union. Prominent dailies in EU countries also had the announcement as the front page lead.
In France, Le Monde’s banner headline read: “Trump launches his global trade war”. The paper’s editorial said the announcement “exposes the US to retaliatory measures from its trade partners and risks throwing the global economy into a recessionary spiral”. Meanwhile, the centre-left leaning Liberation’s splash headline read: “The world drinks the tax”, adding that the announcement upsets the global economic order.
In Germany, Süddeutsche Zeitung’s main headline said “Trump starts global trade war” while the headline on Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung’s front page said “Scholz accuses Trump of attack”.
Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera’s banner headline noted that the “first impact” of the announcement was on the stock market. The cartoon commented on the “war of the duties”.
Southeast Asia
Several Southeast Asian nations are the worst affected by these tariffs. Cambodia faces the highest rate in the region at 49 percent, followed by Vietnam at 46 percent and Thailand at 37 percent.
One of Cambodia’s last English language newspapers, the Phnom Penh Post, ceased publication on Friday after battling a financial crisis. The pro-government Koh Santepheap offered no comment.
The front page of state-run Vietnam News called it a “taxing time” while an opinion piece in Le Courrier du Vietnam, citing an official, said that “Vietnam's most-favored-nation (MFN) tariffs on imports average 9.4 percent. Therefore, the reciprocal tariffs of up to 46 percent that the United States plans to impose on Vietnamese products are unscientifically groundless and unfair, and do not reflect Vietnam’s goodwill and efforts to address the trade imbalance between the two countries in recent times, he added.”
India
India’s reciprocal tariff of 27 percent, while lower than America’s Asian rivals, is set to impact exporting sectors such as gems and jewellery and auto components.
An editorial in The Indian Express noted that Trump has spared “neither friend nor foe, with countries across the board – from allies like the UK and EU to China and even Madagascar – facing the spectre of significantly higher tariffs. For now, predicting how this ends is beset with difficulties”.
“A few days ago, India agreed to the terms of reference for the agreement. It has also taken steps in the recent past – from cutting tariffs on high-end cars and high-capacity motorcycles to doing away with the equalisation levy – showing an accommodative stance. But, along with negotiating with the Trump administration and pushing ahead with the trade deal, Delhi must also pursue a more ambitious and broader agenda for trade reform,” the editorial said.
An editorial in the Business Standard, meanwhile, said that India “must adjust swiftly” to the tariffs.
UK
Most newspapers in the United Kingdom, which has been hit with a 10 percent baseline tariff on nearly all of its goods, also kept their focus on the global impact of the tariff hikes.
“Tariff turmoil wipes trillions of dollars off global stock markets,” announced The Guardian’s frontpage headline. Trump tariff policies wiped off about two trillion dollars from Wall Street, the newspaper said.
“World reels from Trump trade shock” read the frontpage headline in Financial Times.
The Independent shed light on the Labour government’s proposed retaliation on the White House tariffs. “Trump aftershock: UK draws up hitlist of US goods to tax,” read its frontpage headline.
In times of misinformation, you need news you can trust. We’ve got you covered. Subscribe to Newslaundry and power our work.
Newslaundry is a reader-supported, ad-free, independent news outlet based out of New Delhi. Support their journalism, here.
