New US Customs Duties
Experts caution that raising tariffs for the goods imported by the United States runs the risk of causing an international trade war
Bogdan Matei, 03.04.2025, 14:00
The US president Donald Trump has made a decision, experts predicted long ago, namely new tariffs on all imports to US. In a speech delivered at the White House and quoted by Radio Romania correspondent in Washington, President Trump described it as ‘liberation day’, adding “the measures would bring back tremendous wealth to our country.”
Decades before going into politics, when he was only a successful entrepreneur, Trump used to say that the US was being unfairly treated by its trade partners. Now, as a president, he says that the ‘US has been taken advantage of by ‘cheaters’ and has been ‘pillaged’ by foreigners.
President Trump announced the new tariffs to come into effect this month and which are to be raised according to the way trade partners are treating American imports: 10% for Britain, up to 20% for imports from the EU members and up to 50% for other countries.
The European countries bearing the brunt of this decision are non-EU members, Switzerland, Serbia and Lichtenstein, with taxes 30% higher. The president’s declared goal is to protect the US industry, create new jobs, increase the US manufacture and balance trade deficits, which are now in hundreds of billion dollars.
Experts have cautioned against the measures as they are likely to raise prices for the US consumers and cause an international trade war.
Shortly after the US president’s address, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen has announced countermeasures. According to Radio Romania correspondent in Brussels, she says that the EU is already finalizing a new package of duties. Von der Leyen has described Trump’s decision as ‘a major blow to the world economy and would cause “dire” consequences “for millions of people around the globe”.
“The cost of doing business with the United States will drastically increase. And what is more, there seems to be no order in the disorder. No clear path through the complexity and chaos that is being created as all US trading partners are hit. At the same time, we know that global trading system has serious deficiencies. I agree with president Trump, that others are taking unfair advantage of the current rules. And I am ready to support any efforts to make the global trading system fit for the realities of the global economy. But I also want to be clear: Reaching for tariffs as your first and last tool will not fix it,” the head of the EU Executive went on to say.
Newspapers in Bucharest say that Romania will not be left outside this trade war. On one hand the country’s exports to the USA will be affected and on the other hand ripples caused by the blow dealt to Germany, Romania’s biggest trade partner and the main destination of our car exports, will also be felt in Romania, as Germany is the biggest European exporter to America.
(bill)
