Lightspring/Shutterstock New US tariffs amount to a tariff wall hitting $3.36 trillion in goods with an effective duty of 22.5%.The measures reordered the global trading system the US helped create, threatening major economic dislocations and reflecting intensifying geopolitical competition.Trading partners are expected to retaliate, and there are questions over how much room there is to negotiate. Save for later Print Download Share LinkedIn Twitter US President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs representing a vast overhaul of the global economic system, risking a trade war, higher prices and a blow to economic growth that could hit oil demand. The president is using tariffs to wield US economic might, revive domestic manufacturing and gain geopolitical and trade concessions. Short-term pain, so the argument goes, is worth the long-term gains when it comes to US national security and a reordering of the “unfair” global trade system. Some trading partners are expected to retaliate, while others may hope to negotiate by cutting their trade barriers to maintain access to the US market. The measures against China — adding up to a 54% effective tariff rate — represent a dramatic attempt to decouple the world’s two-largest economies and geopolitical rivals. Measures targeting scores of countries, including allies, may isolate the US and shift trade patterns in new directions.
