Swept by Trump's New Tariffs, Countries Choose Negotiations

CANBERRA, THURSDAY - The additional import tariffs from United States President Donald Trump are sweeping across the globe. However, amidst the chaos caused by the trade war, not all countries have announced plans to impose retaliatory tariffs.

"This action by Trump is clearly not the act of a friend, but we will not retaliate," said Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra, Thursday (3/4/2025).

Australia is one of the closest allies of the US. In terms of trade balance, they are actually in deficit with the US. However, Trump also imposed tariffs on them.

Trump's reasoning is that Australia refuses to import beef from the US. Conversely, the US imports a significant amount of beef from Australia. Canberra is unwilling to purchase beef from the US due to the risk of mad cow disease.

"Australia does not want to get involved in a trade war. Our goal is to strengthen the economy and improve the welfare of the people," said Albanese. According to him, Australia has chosen the path of negotiation to resolve this tariff issue.

Australia's neighboring country, New Zealand, also announced that it would not impose retaliatory tariffs on the United States. All this time, New Zealand has been very accommodating to U.S. products, with its import tariffs below 10 percent. However, on Wednesday (2/4/2025), Trump announced that he would impose a base tariff of 10 percent on all countries.

"If we raise the price of goods, the people will be hit by inflation. We do not want to take that path," said New Zealand's Minister of Trade, Todd McClay.

From the uniform 10 percent tariff imposition, Canada and Mexico, two direct neighbors of the U.S., are exempt. They have been subject to a 25 percent tariff since February 2025. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum stated that efforts are ongoing to avoid a trade war and to pursue negotiations.

"We have to resolve this issue as civilized as possible," he said.

Trump imposed a 10 percent tariff on all countries on the grounds of retaliating against those countries' protectionism against US products. Trump said it was legitimate for a country to protect its commodities by limiting imports.

"Now, the US is doing the same thing," he said.

There are also tariffs as political weapons, such as those Trump has used against China, Canada, and Mexico. The three countries have been accused of turning a blind eye and allowing fentanyl smuggling and illegal immigrants to flood the US.

China denies allowing fentanyl raw materials to be smuggled into the US. It says it has cooperated with the US in raids on drug factories.

Canada and Mexico are also doing the same. They say they have increased security at their respective borders so that no illegal immigrants can sneak into the US.

In Central American countries, they are also planning to negotiate with Trump. The US is bound by a free trade agreement with Central America.

Mexico's approach differs from Canada's retaliatory tariffs. In fact, Canada has temporarily stopped energy flows to New York, Michigan and Minnesota in protest.

In addition to imposing retaliatory tariffs, Canada has also taken non-tariff measures. Canadian grocery and convenience stores have refused to carry U.S. products. For those that still display U.S. products, consumers have refused to buy them and have instead chosen Canadian or foreign products.

Canada's move is hitting the US economy. The reason is, many US medium-sized industrial products are marketed to Canada. For example, alcoholic beverages, children's toys, and baseball bats.

Europe has also retaliated by increasing tariffs on U.S. auto parts imports, angering Trump, who has threatened to raise import duties on European cars by 200 percent.

"This is not a move to put the US first, but rather a move to isolate the US. European governments must quickly negotiate tariffs if they do not want their people to lose their jobs," said Hildegard Mueller, head of the German Automotive Industry Association (VDA).

Amid the trade war, stock markets in Hong Kong in China and Tokyo in Japan plunged. The yuan exchange rate is at its lowest in the last seven weeks.

Trump has imposed an additional 20 percent tariff on China. As a result, the total tariff for China is 54 percent. Tariffs will also be imposed on cheap goods ordered from Chinese marketplaces, namely Shein and Temu.

Southeast Asia has not escaped Trump's tariffs either. Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam have been hit with tariffs ranging from 46 to 49 percent. Indonesia has so far set an 8 percent import tariff on US products.

By Trump, Indonesia responded with additional tariffs. The total amount of Indonesian import tariffs is 32 percent. There has been no announcement of the Indonesian government's stance.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNN that other countries should not impose retaliatory tariffs. "If you retaliate, it will escalate the trade war," he said.

However, Bessent could not predict the stock market reaction or the international economic turmoil.

(AP/AFP/Reuters)