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By far, except for Zimbabwe in Africa, the world has shown resistance towards Donald Trump’s bullying and imposition, the different economies and blocs have vowed to defend their economies.
The President of the United States of America (USA) Donald Trump has imposed reciprocal tariffs on its trade partners across the globe; its arch rival China, has been the hardest hit with tariffs now reaching 104%.
Trump imposed tariffs hike on China, and China retaliated with 34% tariffs hike on American produced goods coming into their country, in response to that, Trump demanded that China withdraw their tariffs hike and gave a deadline, since the deadline has passed; he added a 50% hike to make it 104% and later hiked it to a total of 145%.
The Republic of the People of China then hit back by banning exports to the US, dual-use products that can be used for military and civilian purposes in the US. China is to ban the import of US films as well. China further retaliated by further imposing tariffs on the US slapping them with an 84% hike and vowed to take this trade war to the end.
President Xi Jinping further instructed the Chinese reserve bank to cut down on the purchase of the US Dollar.
The European Union (EU) has also clubbed together in defence of their economy, the EU says it prefers to negotiate a deal that will benefit both countries, but since President Trump is hostile, they are prepared for any possibility of further proportionate countermeasures if needed.
Trump imposed a 20% tariffs increase on the EU which led to leaders coming together in response of the trade war attack. The EU has also indicated that it will look to the second largest economy in the globe, China, to strengthen their relations and as an alternative trade partner from America.
According to the EU, the EU-China trade deficit for 2024 reached €304.5 billion; while this is an improvement compared to the 2022 figures (€397 billion), it nonetheless represents a record high in terms of volume. In 2024, Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) into the EU reached its highest level in the past five years, amounting to €185 billion, while EU FDI in China remained stable at €184 billion.
In Africa, the regional bloc, the Southern African Development Countries (SADC) has noted with concern the reciprocal tariffs on its member states, the bloc has united in response to the imposition by America, and they are to assess the impact of the tariffs on member states and to hold an urgent meeting to respond to this.
President Donald Trump is on a quest to make America great again, however, the imposed tariffs on its trade partners may have dire consequences for the American economy, as countries will look for alternative trade partners; as the countries come together, the US might find itself at the back foot of global trade.
By eliminated foreign trade, he is also eliminating the demand for the USD, as trade partners have to buy the USD to buy or pay for goods and services in America, and as a global reserve currency, demand may drastically drop and may lead to recession.
BRICS has shown itself an economic force disrupting the global order; the bloc is now larger than the G7 bloc, America’s trade partners. Many countries from the global South have and are showing interest in joining the BRICS bloc, BRICS is also on a venture of launching a counter reserve currency for its member states, which might be an alternative for many countries away from the bully America.
Companies and countries, considering the exchange rate against the USD, might feel that it is too expensive to do business in America, while the BRICS bloc may opt for pegging with its member states; which will be a viable option than to let their currencies float, the US will lose serious revenue.
