Analysts criticize U.S. tariff hikes for undermining global trade order

Many political leaders and analysts believe that the United States, to maximize unilateral interests, is using tariffs to pressure other economies into making concessions in trade agreements.

BEIJING, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. modified tariffs with dozens of its trading partners are set to take effect on Thursday, amid widespread concern across the globe that the new rates of levies, ranging from 10 percent to 40 percent, will harm the global trade order.

Many political leaders and analysts believe that the United States, to maximize unilateral interests, is using tariffs to pressure other economies into making concessions in trade agreements.

Under the new tariff measures, the basic tariff for goods entering the United States will remain at 10 percent. However, the 10 percent rate will only apply to countries with which the United States has a trade surplus.

For countries with which the United States has a trade deficit, a 15 percent rate will serve as the new tariff floor. Still, for more than a dozen other countries, the tariff rates are higher than 15 percent.

Last month, Trump imposed unilateral tariffs on imports from Brazil, Canada and India, with rates up to 50 percent.

On Wednesday, Trump signed an executive order imposing an additional 25 percent tariff on imports from India in response to the country's purchases of Russian oil, according to a White House statement.

The order, effective 21 days after the announcement, will bring the combined tariffs imposed by the United States on Indian goods to 50 percent.

Similarly, Trump has increased the tariff on Canada from 25 percent to 35 percent and imposed an additional 40 percent tariff on Brazilian goods, bringing the total tariff to 50 percent.

For those that have struck a trade deal with the United States, the clauses are far from being fair.

On July 30, Trump announced a "full and complete" trade deal with South Korea, setting 15 percent tariffs on imports from the country. South Korea also agreed to invest 350 billion U.S. dollars in U.S.-owned projects and purchase 100 billion dollars of U.S. energy.

On July 27, Trump announced a deal with the EU imposing a 15 percent tariff on EU goods, while U.S. strategic exports enjoy zero-tariff access. The EU pledged to buy 750 billion dollars in U.S. energy and invest an additional 600 billion dollars in the United States.

On July 22, Trump said the United States had reached a deal with Japan, imposing a 15 percent tariff on Japanese goods. Japan will invest 550 billion dollars in the United States, which will receive 90 percent of the profits.

Trump's handling of such trade deals and his use of emergency powers to impose tariffs on trading partners have sparked extensive criticism.

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said that the tariffs are a "trade war on the American people," and that there has been "chaos and uncertainty" and "no one knows what's coming when Donald Trump has no plan, no strategy, and he's not honest about what he presents."

"Our businesses … need some degree of certainty, and all they're getting is chaos and inflation. So the Trump tariff trade war is a trade war on the American people. We've seen this week the chaos and uncertainty," he said.

In response to the EU's deal with the United States, German Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil criticized the bloc's negotiating stance, saying it was "too weak" in talks over new tariffs.

"I think we were too weak. We can't be satisfied with the result that was achieved," Klingbeil said on Monday.

Meanwhile, India reacted sharply to the U.S. announcement of an additional 25 percent tariff on its imports, calling the move "unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable," and declaring that New Delhi would take all actions necessary to protect its national interests.

"The U.S. has in recent days targeted India's oil imports from Russia. We have already made clear our position on these issues, including the fact that our imports are based on market factors and done with the overall objective of ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion people of India," said Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Randhir Jaiswal in an official statement.

By erecting these extremely high tariff barriers and undermining and weakening the WTO, the Trump administration has seriously damaged the world trading system, said Time Magazine, adding that consequently, it might end up pushing the rest of the world away and sowing the seeds of America's own isolation and irrelevance.■