The formalization of new American customs duties has brought the global scholarships in the red on Friday, even if the postponement of their application on August 7 leads to several countries to negotiate until the last moment with Donald Trump to avoid excessive surcharge.
By wishing to “restructure global trade for the benefit of American employees” by customs duties ranging from 10% to 41% against some 70 business partners, Washington once again plunges the world economy in great uncertainty.
While some Asian countries are welcoming agreements, others, such as Switzerland, are still in shock from these new, sometimes prohibitive trade barriers.
The financial markets reacted badly on Friday to this new situation. European places have closed in sharp decline, with for example Paris at -2.91%. Wall Street was part of the same dynamic, the S&P 500 backing up 1.33% and the Nasdaq 1.76% around 3:50 p.m. GMT.
They are increasingly worried about the effects on the economy, especially American, even a new sign of slowdown appeared, with an unemployment rate published slightly on Friday, 4.2% and hires that slow down more than expected.
Donald Trump, a supporter of uninhibited protectionism, signed the implementing decree on Thursday evening by granting a respite of a few days.
These new taxes on imports will take effect, for the most part of the countries, on August 7, and not this Friday, August 1, as an initially expected, in order to allow customs to organize for their collection, assures the White House.
But this postponement offers a window for final talks, want to believe several countries.
– Surprised Switzerland, not the EU –
South Africa is thus engaged in “intensive negotiations”, said its president, Cyril Ramaphosa, faced with the 30% imposed by Washington which threaten, according to the central bank of the country, 100,000 jobs.
Taiwan, with its electronic flea industry, is struck by a surcharge of 20% but “will endeavor to obtain a reasonable level of customs duties,” said its president Lai Ching-Te.
Switzerland has been surprised by a surcharge of 39% on its products imported into the United States, a figure much higher than that which strikes the European Union. His government, despite his “great regret”, “always aspires to find a negotiated solution”.
For other countries, no surprises. The surcharge displayed in the decree is that obtained after months of negotiations with Washington which sought to obtain as many concessions as possible, without undergoing reprisals.
The European Union (EU), Japan or South Korea thus see their products taxed up to 15%, and the United Kingdom by 10%.
– Political measure –
Many sectors are worried.
In Germany, that of beer, already loss of speed, fears for its exports, which represent almost a fifth of sales.
In France, the wine sector, which anticipates up to a billion euros in turnover, “hopes to be able to benefit from an exemption,” said Jean-Marie Fabre, one of his representatives.
China, in negotiations with the United States to extend its current commercial truce until August 12, denounced on Friday a protectionism which harms “all parties”.
These customs duties are also a means of political pressure for Donald Trump. Brazil, guilty in the eyes of Donald Trump to prosecute his far-right ally, former president Jair Bolsonaro, will see his products entering the United States taxed at 50%.
As for Canada, the neighbor and ally of Washington, he learned Thursday evening that customs duties applied to his products were going from 25% to 35% this Friday, unless they are covered by the free trade agreement between the three countries of North America (ACEUM). The latter, however, represent the vast majority of Canadian products entering the United States, which strongly reduces the potential shock that this surcharge could have caused.
Mexico, for its part, obtained a 90 -day stay.
Some nevertheless seem satisfied with the agreements concludes, such as Bangladesh, Malaysia or Thailand, where the government speaks of a “win-win approach”.
Posted on August 1 at 6:00 p.m. AFP
