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Trump’s next trade tit-for-tat
While the trade war between the US and China may now be settled in negotiations, a new trade dispute is looming over the global economy.
Global trade volumes slipped by 1.8% between January and March
World trade volumes fell by 1.8% in the first quarter compared with the previous three months, according to figures from the Dutch government. The sudden loss in trade momentum has been almost as severe as the aftermath of the 2001 dotcom bubble when trade volumes slid by 2.2%, says Tom Rees in The Daily Telegraph. And while the trade war between the US and China may now be settled in negotiations, a new trade dispute is looming over the global economy.
US president Donald Trump is taking on Europe. In response to a dispute over aircraft subsidies, Trump's administration has drafted a list of tariffs on $11bn-worth of European goods, and is also considering new levies on European cars. American fans of "fine European swordfish steaks, cotton sweaters, jams, and binoculars" should "stock up before tariffs take effect", say Annaliese Griffin and Jason Karaian on Quartz.
In retaliation, Brussels is considering punitive tariffs on $12bn-worth of US exports. American goods on the provisional list include frozen cod, beeswax, tractors and car parts, notes Jim Brunsden in the Financial Times. But in a "tit-for-tat battle, the European bloc is... the weaker party", says Irwin Stelzer in The Sunday Times. Europe's unemployment rate is twice America's, its highly taxed citizens are "easy prey" for populist parties, and its economy has slowed. Crucially, EU exports to America exceed imports from the US by about $100bn a year.
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Join more than 165,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with latest financial news, insights and expert analysis to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.
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If the tariffs are imposed, the main loser would be Germany, as America is the biggest buyer of German cars. The EU reckons that Trump's 25% tariff would add €10,000 to the price of a car made in the EU; the bloc's exports to America could halve. German growth is already heading for 0%, and the car levy could tip it into recession.
Join more than 165,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with the latest financial news, insights and expert analysis to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.
Marina Gerner is an award-winning journalist and columnist who has written for the Financial Times, the Times Literary Supplement, the Economist, The Guardian and Standpoint magazine in the UK; the New York Observer in the US; and die Bild and Frankfurter Rundschau in Germany.
Marina is also an adjunct professor at the NYU Stern School of Business at their London campus, and has a PhD from the London School of Economics.
Her first book, The Vagina Business, deals with the potential of “femtech” to transform women’s lives, and will be published by Icon Books in September 2024.
