President Donald Trump signed the day of “American economic independence” with an executive order on April 2. More clearly translated: the head of the White House declared a trade war on the entire world in an attempt to reshape trading relations with friends and foes around the globe.
Trump imposed reciprocal tariffs on all, starting at a minimum of 10 percent and rising to 50 percent. The punitive measures did not end there, as an additional 25 percent tariff was imposed on all imports of foreign cars and auto parts.
So President Trump is launching an economic offensive with a year zero or, in his words, a "liberation day" to make America rich again and return trillions of dollars, jobs, dignity to its citizens, to stop economic and commercial robbery and to restore the American dream. The list of bad guys includes China, the European Union, Japan, South Korea and many other countries. Faced with this situation, everyone is getting ready for what is expected to be a collision with the wall at speeds of up to 200 kilometers per hour.
“My American friends, this is Emancipation Day. We have waited a long time. April 2, 2025, will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America’s fortunes were restored, and the day we began to make America rich again. For decades, our country has been plundered, raped, and robbed by nations near and far. As steelworkers, auto workers, farmers, and skilled craftsmen, they have suffered truly in anguish as foreign leaders have stolen our jobs, foreign crooks have plundered what was once the beautiful American dream. We are putting a 10% floor on it. See that list? It goes on and on with other countries with tariffs that will help us rebuild our economy and prevent theft. I consider it a somewhat reciprocal measure, because it is not entirely so. We have only "Half of what we get. If they complain, and they want the tariffs to be zero, then go ahead and build your product in America, because you won't have any tariffs. My call is this: take the tariffs off, take the barriers off, and don't manipulate your currency," Trump said.
“If this isn’t just a strategic ploy to try to bargain eye-to-eye with other countries to lower tariffs on both sides, if it leads to an environment where there are higher tariffs globally for a sustained period of time, I think it could be quite significant, to some extent. The foundation for a strong global economy is when nations can specialize in producing the goods or services that they can do best and you don’t have barriers to trade. That makes the economy more efficient and provides a kind of solid foundation. The White House and President Trump laid out their strategy and their rationale behind imposing tariffs, but they didn’t tie it to the broader economic plan of the administration. It’s unclear how this ties into the economic objectives of this administration, and I’m not entirely clear what their economic objectives are. If they were to enforce it against a broad swath of countries on everything that we import, I think all products could become more expensive. "I think the thing with Taiwan is that we import a number of computer chips from them, and as a result they will become more expensive, making personal computers more expensive," said Thomas Bridges, a professor at the University of Delaware.
“We should be very concerned. The last time there was a trade war on this scale was in the 1930s, the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, and it led to a global recession worldwide. And if this trade war escalates, we could see a slowdown in the global economy on the scale of the 2014 Global Financial Crisis and perhaps even deeper. There may be some industries that would benefit from these tariffs in the US. However, it is well known that tariffs are not the best tool of industrial policy. This would immediately lead to an increase in consumer prices in the US. It would lead to an overall slowdown in the US economy. Moreover, many of those tariffs are placed on parts and components in imports, which could have an effect on the production of US goods. So the effect on most industries, such as car manufacturing, would be the opposite, it would make US-made goods more expensive and therefore less competitive in international markets and less affordable in the domestic American market,” said Vladimir Tyzhalenikov, a professor at the University of Sydney.
“We certainly need to bring jobs back to the United States of America, and that’s something that we Democrats in Congress support. But these hasty tariffs are not strategic. Nothing Donald Trump and Elon Musk have done in the past 70-plus days is strategic. It’s chaos, crisis, and confusion. There’s a lot of corruption wrapped up in this and it’s causing great harm. They’re destroying the economy of the United States of America. They’re asking the countries of the world to behave like the Republicans in the Senate and the House of Representatives, to sit down and take orders from Donald Trump and Elon Musk. I don’t expect the world to do that, and it’s unfortunate that this administration is ruining the opportunities to work together,” said Hakeem Jeffries | US Congressman.
Faced with this frontal attack, the world reacted almost with one voice. The European Union had long begun preparing a plan to impose countermeasures against America's tariffs, pushing this trade war forward. Great Britain also has its own action plan ready to protect mainly citizens, businesses but mainly the economy. However, the parties leave open the possibility of dialogue with US President Donald Trump, to enable a kind of trade normality. But what everyone agrees on, except for Washington, is the fact that this could plunge the globe into a dangerous economic spiral, with high prices, uncontrollable inflation and more poverty and waste.
“President Trump announced universal tariffs for the whole world, including the European Union, in a major blow to the global economy. I deeply regret this choice. Let us be clear about the major consequences. The global economy will suffer massively. The tariffs will also hurt consumers around the world. The effects will be felt immediately. Millions of citizens will face higher food bills. Medicine will cost more, as will transportation. Inflation will rise. And this is particularly damaging to the most vulnerable citizens. All businesses, large and small, will suffer from day one, from great uncertainty to disruption of supply chains. We have always been ready to negotiate with the United States to remove remaining barriers to transatlantic trade. At the same time, we are prepared to respond. We are already finalizing the first package of countermeasures in response to the steel tariffs and are now preparing for further countermeasures to protect our interests and our businesses,” said Ursula von der Leyen, President of the EC.
“Last night, the President of the United States acted for his country. He has that mandate. Today, I will act in the interests of Britain. I understand how important this is for your business and for the British people. So we will move forward with the next phase of our plan. The decisions that we make in the coming days will be guided solely by our national interest, our economic interest, the interest of businesses and putting money in the pockets of workers. Nothing else will guide me. That is my focus. Of course, there will be an economic impact from the decisions that the US has made, both here and in the global economy. But I want to be very clear, we are prepared. No one will win in a trade war. This is not in our national interest. We have a fair and balanced relationship with America,” said Keir Starmer, Prime Minister of Great Britain.
"My country has been the largest investor in the United States since 2019. Japanese companies have played and will continue to play a major role in the American economy. We have asked the US government to review the unilateral tariffs at various levels and are very disappointed that this measure has been imposed despite all this," said Shigeru Ishiba | Prime Minister of Japan.
“I consider the latest tariffs by the US president to be a very wrong decision. This is an attack on the trade order that has created prosperity for the whole world. The entire global economy will suffer from these ill-considered and bad decisions, companies and consumers all over the world, including in the US. The US government is walking a path that will only end with losers. The European Union has the world's strongest internal market with 450 million consumers and this gives us strength. We are available for talks with the US government to avoid a trade war. It is obvious that even if Europe does nothing, this will result in economic difficulties for the United States itself,” said Olaf Scholz | Chancellor of Germany.
“Australia could file a complaint with the World Trade Organization, but since 2020 the WTO Appellate Body has not been active because the US has blocked the appointment of new judges there and effectively the WTO cannot resolve any disputes. So there will be no response. Unlike Australia, China, East and Southeast Asia are major trading partners with the US and it will be a serious blow to them. A trade war of this scale could easily lead to a global recession and then every country in the world would be affected. What is important and what we do not know yet is how other countries will respond to Trump’s tariffs. It is very likely that these countries will retaliate and this will affect, of course, the US, but it could bring benefits or harm to the Australian economy. For example, the US is also a major exporter of beef, and for example the European Union and China impose retaliatory tariffs on US agricultural products, then this will "It opens up new opportunities for Australian exporters in the third market," said Vladimir Tyzhalenikov | Professor at the University of Sydney.
“The automotive industry in Germany is now under a double blow. One is from the challenge of technological transformation, while the other is the restructuring of global supply chains due to new trade barriers. German companies are particularly affected because, as an export-driven nation, the German economy is highly dependent on foreign markets. I believe that companies will start to turn to other markets where trade agreements currently exist,” said Almut Roessner | Germany-Asia-Pacific Business Association.
“Let’s stop for a moment at the poor countries. Countries like Papua New Guinea, Fiji, or developing countries are just starting to move, and the idea that they are a threat to the Americans is absurd. And just think about a punitive strike on those economies, coming from Washington, and just take its pulse to understand that this wave of nasty tariffs is going to have very damaging effects on relatively poor countries that can’t really afford this. Now we have the rich countries coming together and saying this is not good. The rich countries are going to retaliate. So I don’t think that imposing tariffs by America on the rest of the world is a bad idea. If they clash with tariffs from the rest of the globe against the United States, then all President Trump has done is isolate the Americans from the rest of the global economy,” said Justin Wolfers | Professor at the University of Michigan.
“The evening of April 2nd went a little better than the UK feared. We didn’t see the US targeting things like VAT or sales taxes, at least not publicly in a way that could produce a higher bill. And of course, there is a clear separation between the tariffs that have been imposed,” said Stephen Adams | UK Trade Expert.
Albania has been affected by President Donald Trump's US tariffs by 10 percent. This is confirmed by the list distributed by the White House. Kosovo has also been hit by 10 percent. Serbia turns out to be the country most affected by President Donald Trump's decision, as the trade tariff is 37 percent for all exchanges. This is one of the highest measures imposed on the long list published by the White House. Then comes Bosnia and Herzegovina with a 35 percent tariff on goods imported into the United States, North Macedonia with 33 percent, while Montenegro escaped with only a 10 percent tariff. In addition to monetary and trade punishment, the US president's plan in this trade war is also being read as a new definition of the friends and enemies of the Trump administration.
Now we will move on to another global development that was of course headline news everywhere. In France and beyond, it was considered a “political death sentence”. Even an earthquake for democracy. The Paris court found the leader of the far-right, Marine le Pen, guilty of embezzling 2.9 million euros from the European Union, which she used to grow her National Front party, which has now been renamed the National Union, through a several-year scheme in which employees were registered as European officials, but who worked only for her political force. The sentence handed down by the judges was a “nuclear bomb” that opened a large and dangerous hole in French democracy, according to Marine le Pen herself: according to the decision, the politician is not allowed to hold public office for five years, which puts an end to her hopes of participating as a candidate in the 2027 presidential elections, a process in which the polls show her as the favorite to win. As part of the sentence, there were 4 years in prison, 2 of them suspended and 2 others suspended, a fine of 100 thousand euros and another 2 million for her party.
“The defense argued for a miscommunication or misunderstanding with the administration of the European Parliament, but it does not seem to be the case. The charges are actually legally quite sound, and the decision actually puts together the pieces of the puzzle of a larger scheme that the entire party has been following for some time. In fact, the judge had discretion, a double sense of discretion, one for the additional sanction of the ban on holding public office or unsuitability, and the second was to apply it immediately and not wait for the final appeal. For the first, the interesting thing is that now with the latest law, this qualification sanction would be automatic”, said Eleonora Bottini | Professor at the University of Caen Normandy.
“The case has been pending for quite some time. It is not a surprise. That system was very well organised and the facts are very obvious, and therefore the sentence, however harsh, is legally justified. Politically it is explosive. But legally it makes a lot of sense. Can you imagine that her bodyguard was also paid by European money as if he was actually doing some work in the European Parliament as an assistant. So the system, the facts, all of that has been known for a long time. This does not come as a surprise. But you are right, what is shocking is a political shock. Of course what is likely to happen is that it will mobilise all those on the far right in France who believe in conspiracy theories because it is always much easier to say 'it is a witch hunt', but Marine Le Pen has already lodged an appeal. So it all depends now on how long that trial will take. Usually, you know, our courts are overloaded. It can take from 18 months to 2 years. Maybe the process will be accelerated, but she is waiting for the appeal. So the next court may ultimately make a different decision,” said Christine Ockrent | Journalist.
"It is something very serious to tell someone who could win 40 percent of the vote in the second round of the presidential election, 'You can't run next time.' This would not be the death of the party, because they could have another candidate, but it is a very serious punishment, which risks evoking a perception of a very political verdict among the supporters of the National Front," said Jean-Yves Camus | Researcher, Political Scientist.
Marine Le Pen's reaction was of course furious, as was her exit from the court without hearing the verdict pronounced by the jury. In a conference, she accused the government of using justice against her, to rob her of her presidential dream. Her fight to unblock this situation will focus on two main pillars: the first through massive protests across France, the second with legal challenges by appealing the severe sentence and sending it for interpretation to the constitutional court. But time does not seem to be moving in her favor. The sentence has been considered a serious blow to her political career and has caused strong reactions. Her supporters, such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, and even the US President and the Kremlin in Russia, have called the decision an attack on democracy, while political opponents in France have said that the French people should decide her fate through a vote. On the other hand, after the conviction, the judge who made the decision was placed under police protection due to threats received.
"It is possible that she will not run for president, and she said this immediately, although she underlined that she was not finished with politics, but at the same time, in the same interview, she also says that Jordan Bardela is a great asset for the party, thus signaling that he can take the lead in some way even though he is a bit new to the presidential elections. So I am not sure if she has decided what she will do. The only way for her to have a chance to run would be if the appeal was faster than the 2027 presidential elections. However, it is not certain that this is possible, because the campaign will start much earlier, and so she needs to be sure that she will be able to run to launch a campaign that cannot be last-minute. So I think that if the appeal does not go as quickly as she hopes, then they will find another candidate just to be sure", said Eleonora Bottini | Professor at the University of Caen Normandy.
“Considering all the elements that the prosecutor initially presented, the result is not surprising. The question was really whether they would take into account the political factors and the consequences of putting a person who is in fact the runaway favorite for the next presidential election. Able to withdraw from the race because she cannot run with all the consequences that we are seeing today. They decided to judge the case on the merits. The decision is very serious and has an immediate impact, but for me it is not a surprise”, said Thierry Arnaud | Correspondent, BFMTV. (A2 Televizion)
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