Friday, March 29, 2024 | Ramadan 18, 1445 H
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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Adverse effects of the next global trade war

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Global trade concerns have not stopped for more than a year because of the decisions made by US President Donald Trump from time to time, as he now plans to charge for some goods and products received in America, especially from China, EU countries and Canada.


A few days ago, the US government’s decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium imports had been reported, raising fears of a trade war between large nations that will also hurt the emerging and small economies.


As a result of these measures, there is growing concern in the oil and financial markets as well. Since Trump announced his country would impose huge costs on the two minerals to protect American producers, exporting countries are considering similar measures, which has foreshadowed a reaction from US trading partners.


The US president’s plan aims to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all steel imports and 10 per cent on many varieties of aluminium imports starting next week in a bid to protect the industry in the United States.


This announcement, without a doubt, was met with immediate condemnation from the European Union, while neighbouring Canada threatened to impose its own customs duties, while the US president continued to emphasise in his occasional chants that when a country such as America loses billions of dollars on trade with every country that trades with them, trade wars are good and easy to win.


This suggests he intends to continue to make his decisions in order to gain more popularity among the Americans, at a time when his popularity has been shaken at the local and global level in the past months as a result of some of the political and economic decisions he has taken, which led to the triggering of more unrest and war in the world. These include the negative decision to move the US Embassy to occupied Jerusalem.


As a trader and not a savvy politician on many international issues and relations, President Trump has everything to do with profit and loss. He sees his trade with any country under $100 billion as meaningless. The reciprocity of imports from all trading partners is to reduce the US trade deficit.


Such a decision is beginning to show reactions from other countries, which say they will charge US products 50 per cent if America takes its next step. The trade deficit with America amounts to $800 billion, as America does not charge a lot of foreign products received pursuant to the principles of World Trade Organization. This would completely eliminate the foundations of the world trade system in the case of imposing duties, while economists believe that such steps hurt American workers and the industrial sector, especially vehicle and defence giants.


America’s decision to impose duties on imports of steel and aluminium began to raise internal and external concern where he drew criticism from within the United States and abroad. The German foreign minister called for a decisive response by the European Union, stressing that German and European companies do not practise dumping policies.


China has called for restraint from America in the use of trade protectionism and compliance with international trade rules, while warning Japanese companies that these fees will lead to a significant increase in car prices in the US market.


The IMF also warned against the process which will cause widespread economic damage, including to the US economy, and called on all to work together in a constructive way to reduce trade barriers and resolve differences on trade without resorting to such emergency measures.


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