DIVISIONS AND MIXED SIGNALS
With European shares also tumbling to the biggest weekly losses in years, the European Union’s trade commissioner, Maros Sefcovic, said he held a “frank” two-hour call with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
“I was clear: US tariffs are damaging, unjustified,” Sefcovic wrote on social media. “The EU’s committed to meaningful negotiations but also prepared to defend our interests.”
The EU is divided on how best to respond to Trump’s tariffs. Countries cautious about retaliating and thereby raising the stakes in the standoff with the US include Ireland, Italy, Poland and the Scandinavian nations.
French President Emmanuel Macron led the charge on Thursday by calling on companies to freeze investment in the US.
However, French Finance Minister Eric Lombard later cautioned against like-for-like countermeasures on the US tariffs, warning this would also rebound on European consumers.
The US tariffs could jack up the price for US shoppers of everything from bananas to running shoes to Apple’s iPhone. A high-end iPhone could cost nearly US$2,300 if Apple passes the costs on to consumers, based on projections from Rosenblatt Securities.
China is retaliating for Trump’s tariffs on imports from the world’s No 2 economy. The European Union faces a 20 per cent duty.
Trump says “reciprocal” tariffs are a response to barriers put on US goods, while administration officials said the tariffs would create manufacturing jobs at home and open up export markets abroad, although they cautioned it would take time to see results.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/trump-tariffs-stocks-slump-china-retaliates-market-5045001
