Sweeping tariffs under U.S. President Donald Trump and countermeasures could have a "catastrophic" impact on developing countries, hitting even harder than foreign aid cuts, the director of the United Nation's trade agency said on Friday.
Global trade could shrink by 3-7% and global gross domestic product by 0.7%, with developing countries the worst affected, the International Trade Centre said.
"It is huge," Pamela Coke-Hamilton, executive director of the International Trade Centre, told Reuters. "If this escalation between China and the U.S. continues it will result in an 80% reduction in trade between the countries, and the ripple effect of that across the board can be catastrophic."
Global markets continued to face turmoil on Friday, after Trump announced a 90-day tariff pause on dozens of countries, while ratcheting up tariffs on Chinese imports, raising them effectively to 145% when levies imposed earlier this year are taken into account.
China has been raising its tariffs on the U.S. with each Trump increase, raising fears that Beijing may jack up tariffs above the current 84%.
"Tariffs could have a much more harmful impact than the removal of foreign aid," Coke-Hamilton said, warning that developing economies risk sliding back on the economic gains they made in recent years.
The International Trade Centre's projections are based on data it gathered that do not reflect the 90-day pause or levy hike on China to 125% and its subsequent 84% hike on U.S. goods.
SpaceX will gradually lower 4,400 Starlink satellites this year to improve space safety....
Up to 45,000 households in Berlin are without electricity after a suspected arson fire....
The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting Monday to discuss the U.S. operation in Venezuela....
Swiss authorities have opened a criminal investigation into the managers of a bar where at least 40 people died in a New Year’s fire....
European national security advisers gathered in Kyiv on Saturday to discuss Russia- Ukraine war and steps toward peace....
Russian athletes will not be allowed to represent their country at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics even if a peace deal is reached with Ukraine, International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry said in an interview with an Italian newspaper.
A 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck southern Mexico early on Friday, killing at least two people and causing damage in Guerrero state.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned that the Russia-Ukraine war is now threatening trade in the Black Sea.
The United States launched an overnight military operation in Venezuela and captured its long-serving President Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump said, pledging to place the country under temporary American control and signalling that U.S. forces could be deployed if necessary.
Venezuela’s government has released 88 more people detained after protests following last year’s presidential election, the second mass release in two weeks, as pressure mounts from the United States on President Nicolás Maduro.
North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the East Sea, according to South Korea and Japan, as regional diplomacy and security concerns remain in focus.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have arrived in New York after being captured by U.S. forces.
Up to 45,000 households in Berlin are without electricity after a suspected arson fire.
The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting Monday to discuss the U.S. operation in Venezuela.
Swiss authorities have opened a criminal investigation into the managers of a bar where at least 40 people died in a New Year’s fire.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment