Trump’s tariff tantrum: US slaps huge levies on world as trade war erupts
Donald Trump has thrown the world into economic turmoil, launching a full-scale trade war by slapping sweeping new tariffs on imports, including crippling levies on key allies.
Thailand has been caught in the tariff crossfire too, with officials claiming the nation could suffer an US$8 billion hit if the US were to even up levies between the two countries.
Semiconductor exports from Thailand face tariffs of 25% from the US, said the permanent secretary for commerce Vuttikrai Leewiraphan.
“Thailand collects tariffs of about 11% higher than the US in agriculture and industrial. So, if we are hit with 11% more, we could see losses of about US$7 billion to US$8 billion.”
Thailand will adopt a “holistic approach” to trade negotiations to minimise the impact on its economy, he added.
In a fiery White House Rose Garden speech, the 78 year old president declared “Liberation Day,” as he hit China with a 34% tariff, the European Union with 20%, Japan with 24%, and Thailand with 36%. Even the United Kingdom, once America’s closest ally, was not spared, facing a 10% levy on all exports to the US.
“For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped, and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike,” Trump said, standing before a cheering crowd of steelworkers and oil industry employees. Holding up a chart listing the “worst offenders,” he insisted he was being ‘kind’ by only imposing half the amount some countries charge on US exports.
But the move sparked immediate global outrage.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese branded the tariffs “totally unwarranted.” Italy, whose leader Giorgia Meloni has been a close Trump ally, slammed them as “wrong.”
Even financial markets reacted badly. The S&P index fell 1.5% in after-hours trading, while the dollar tumbled against the euro before recovering.
Trump remained defiant, insisting the levies would “make America wealthy again” and mark the “rebirth of American industry.”
Global economy shockwaves
The sweeping tariffs, set to take effect at 12.01am, today, April 3, come just days after Trump announced crippling 25% auto tariffs, sending shockwaves through the global economy.
Some of the hardest-hit nations include Cambodia (49%), Vietnam (47%), and Myanmar (44%), despite the latter still reeling from a devastating earthquake. Tiny Lesotho was slapped with a 50% tariff, after Trump mocked it as a country “nobody has ever heard of.”
Trump’s North American neighbours got off lightly, Canada and Mexico were exempt from the new tariffs, though both have already been hit with separate levies for what Trump calls their failure to stop fentanyl smuggling.
As countries scramble to assess the damage, Trump’s administration has already issued a stern warning:
“If you retaliate, there will be escalation,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatened in an interview with Fox News.
The tariffs are the latest in Trump’s long-running obsession with economic protectionism. He has long claimed tariffs will spark a “golden age” of US manufacturing, despite overwhelming warnings from economists that they risk driving up prices for American consumers, slowing the economy, and triggering a global recession.
Charm offensive
Britain, facing a 10% tariff, mounted a desperate last-minute diplomatic charm offensive.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer even turned up at the White House in person, hand-delivering an invitation from King Charles III for a state visit, hoping to soften Trump’s stance.
Business Minister Jonathan Reynolds admitted the UK had been “let off lightly” compared to others but said talks were ongoing to secure a trade deal that could “mitigate the damage.”
Despite the uproar, Trump isn’t backing down. He insists the tariffs will force US companies to bring production back home, creating jobs and restoring economic dominance.
“This will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn,” he boasted, as his supporters whooped and cheered.
For the rest of the world, though, it may well be remembered as the day a full-scale global trade war erupted. Meanwhile, Thailand will diversify its export markets to offset the hit from US tariffs, Vuttikrai added.
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