US tariff blitz risks global ramifications
Experts lambaste move as economically unsound, unlikely to attain stated goals
The latest tariffs announced by the Trump administration are unlikely to achieve their stated goals, pose a significant risk to the global economy and violate international trade commitments, experts warn.
"In the World Trade Organization, the US agreed on a detailed schedule of 'bound' — meaning upper limit — tariffs on virtually all merchandise imports, but Trump's tariffs completely violate this basic commitment made to other countries through the WTO," said Gary Hufbauer, a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington.
US President Donald Trump unveiled his "reciprocal tariffs" on Wednesday, citing an "economic emergency". He introduced a 10 percent baseline tariff on goods imported from nearly all trading partners, excluding Canada and Mexico, and individualized tariffs targeting about 60 economies for what he called unfair trade practices.
