Washington - Saba:
The United States began imposing new tariffs on goods from dozens of countries on Thursday, a pivotal step in President Donald Trump's efforts to reshape international trade.
With the implementation of the executive order Trump signed last week, US tariffs on products from several trading partners rose from 10 percent to between 15 percent and 41 percent.
The US president said that "billions of dollars" were flowing into the United States as the new tariffs began to be imposed.
"It's midnight (local time)!! Billions of dollars in tariffs are now flowing into the United States!" he wrote on his Truth Social platform as the August 7 deadline for the tariffs passed.
Many products from economies such as the European Union, Japan, and South Korea now face 15 percent tariffs, even with deals struck with Washington to avoid the larger increases threatened by Trump. However, other countries, such as India, face 25 percent tariffs, set to double within three weeks, while countries such as Syria, Myanmar, and Laos face tariffs as high as 41 percent. The latest tariffs aim to correct trade practices that Washington considers unfair, and they expand measures imposed by Trump since his return to the White House in January.
However, these new tariffs do not apply to imports from specific sectors listed under special lists, such as steel, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, and chips.
Trump announced on Wednesday that he plans to impose 100 percent tariffs on semiconductors, while Taiwan confirmed that chip giant TSMC would be exempt due to its US-based factories.
However, companies and industry groups warn that the new tariffs will severely harm small American businesses. Economists also believe that the new tariffs could lead to increased inflation and weigh on long-term growth.