Asia responds to Trump’s steel tariffs
The decision of US President Donald Trump to impose tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum imported by his country was accepted with generalized decreases in the main markets of Asia and warnings on a possible trade war. China said that “The United States is dismissing the rules of the World Trade Organization and China is not happy with that”.
"Trump tariffs put Asia on the verge of commercial conflict", reads the economic publication Nikkei according to El Mundo. "The world is on the verge of a commercial war, thus recessions begin," said Robert Carnell, an Asia Pacific analyst at ING in Singapore. Curiously, and although analysts had indicated that the protectionist policies sponsored by Trump could focus on China, the fact is that in this case the main affected have been the most strategic allies of the US in the region: South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.
One of the strongest support from Washington in the area, Australia, reacted with haste when criticizing the US directive, which according to its Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Steven Ciobo, "will have no other result than to distort trade and ultimately lead to the loss of jobs ". Ciobo warned of possible countermeasures in the affected countries. "My concern is that as a result of this type of action we can find retaliatory measures," he said. "America's allies are going to be part of the collateral damage that this particular measure entails," said former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in a statement to Bloomberg.
Another key element in the Asian policy of the USA, Japan, also responded without hiding its stupor before the action of Washington. "We are asking for clarification" of the measures, said Japanese Trade Minister Hiroshige Sko. "I do not believe that the exports of steel and aluminum from Japan, which is an ally of the United States, will in no way jeopardize the security of the United States," he added.
South Korea is the third steel exporter in the US market and its leaders had already warned in recent days that they could react to the restrictions set by Washington. Although China is the main producer of steel in the world, its shipments only represent 2% of US imports, which mitigates the possible repercussions of these tariffs for the economy of this country.
Experts say that China may not respond to these restrictions for now because it can take a wide political advantage of this situation in the face of distrust that actions will generate among most of the countries in the area. The truth is that inside and outside the United States, calm has vanished. The current administration has proven to be more than a media object and has the world upside down with the increasing measures in every sector.
