Trump introduced duties against Russia for the first time. Has a second trade war with the whole world begun?

The new tariffs replaced temporary old ones, and those, in turn, replaced Trump's original retaliatory duties, which were canceled by the Supreme Court. He announced them with great fanfare as "America's Liberation Day" after returning to the White House last spring.

Most of those tariffs Trump eventually lowered or canceled, as retaliatory measures were taken not only by the main US rival — China, but also by allies — Canada, Europe, and Mexico.

It later turned out that he had no right to impose these duties at all. American courts, including the Supreme Court, recognized that Trump exceeded his authority. According to US law, the right to impose taxes belongs only to Congress, and import duties are effectively a tax on American buyers of foreign goods.

After losing in court, Trump immediately imposed a 10-percent duty on all imports, citing an emergency with the balance of payments. There were no legal grounds for such a step, so lawsuits were immediately filed against the White House. However, Trump was not concerned: by law, such tariffs can only be imposed for 150 days, and court proceedings take much longer.

On July 24, these measures expired. And Trump introduced new ones — this time under the pretext of protecting workers worldwide.

Russia entered the list for the first time

American legislation allows restricting trade with countries that, in the opinion of the United States, are not actively enough fighting slavery and forced labor.

At Trump's instruction, an investigation was conducted, after which officials proposed introducing a 12.5-percent duty on countries where laws against forced labor are effectively absent.

Russia fell into this very category. It was not on the original "Liberation Day" tariff list, although even uninhabited islands near Antarctica, inhabited only by penguins, were included. At the time, the White House explained this by the absence of significant trade turnover between the US and Russia due to already existing sanctions, imposed after the invasion of Ukraine and the persecution of the opposition. Belarus, Cuba, and North Korea were in the same category.

Now Russia is nevertheless included in the list, albeit with common exceptions for all.

The list of these exceptions ran to 55 pages. As Trump constantly concludes, cancels, and revises trade agreements, one set of duties is superimposed on another, and additional lists of exceptions must be prepared for each new decree.

Economists note that the main burden of tariffs falls on American consumers and businesses, as they increase the cost of goods and components. Instead of the promised revival of American industry and strengthening of US authority in the world, tariff wars, in their opinion, led to a reduction in industrial employment, worsening relations with allies, and a decline in the country's international authority.

The world reacts to each new stage of the tariff war with increasing restraint.

This time, the reaction came almost immediately, as everyone was prepared: after the American court decision, Trump can no longer impose tariffs suddenly through social media messages and now acts through a lengthy legal procedure.

China again stated that it opposes unilateral tariffs and supports free trade. France once again promised to defend its interests and not make concessions. And the main US allies — Great Britain — thanked Trump for recognizing their merits in the fight against forced labor and for zeroing out duties on whiskey.

• 1
• 0
• 3
• 3
• 0
• 0
• 0
• 0