Panel: Tariffs spark economic, tech fears

Experts warn heavy duties risk igniting multifront trade war, stoke uncertainty

A panel of experts has warned that US President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs could ignite a multifront trade war, threatening the US economy, its technological dominance and its global trade relations.

"We're well into the early innings of a multifront trade war," Navin Girishankar, president of the Economic Security and Technology Department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, or CSIS, said at a briefing on Monday. "The Trump administration has been transparent about its desire to use tariffs … but incoherent about the actual goals."

The briefing followed a CSIS panel assessing the tariffs announced by Trump on April 2, which consist of a 10 percent baseline on all imports and steeper rates for specific nations. Trump said the aim is to reindustrialize the United States, generate revenue to cut the federal deficit and balance trade with partners.