Australia's beef farmers shrug at Trump's levies
Trump singled out Australian beef exports while slapping a 10% tariff on all Australian products.
“They’re wonderful people, and wonderful everything — but they ban American beef," Trump said in his Rose Garden speech. “They don’t want it because they don’t want it to affect their farmers and I don’t blame them but we’re doing the same thing right now, starting at midnight tonight, I would say,” he added.
The U.S. is Australia's largest red meat market, importing a record 400,000 tons of Australian beef worth $2.52 billion last year. Since 2003, the country has banned the imports of fresh beef from the U.S. after a mad cow disease outbreak in U.S. cattle.
American fast-food chains rely on Australian beef for its lower fat content, which enables them to achieve an ideal fat content of 30% or less, as mandated by the U.S. Agriculture Department.
That means Australian beef farmers aren't too fazed by the 10% tariff, which is identical to export rivals Brazil and Argentina.
“[American buyers] are completely reliant on our grass-fed beef and some of our high quality grain-finished beef to meet their requirements of their domestic consumers,” Garry Edwards, chair of industry body Cattle Australia, told Reuters.
“I can’t imagine that the American consumer is going to like paying more for their burgers or their steaks for the foreseeable future,” he added.
Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell said last month that higher tariffs on beef could push up the price of McDonald's hamburgers, while Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said today that the government would assist any industries impacted by the tariffs to sell into alternative markets.
De minimis trade loophole boost to Chinese e-commerce to end May 2
Trump yesterday signed an executive order shutting the de minimis trade loophole, effective May 2.
Trump in February abruptly ended the de minimis trade exemption, which allows shipments worth less than $800 to enter the U.S. duty-free. The order overwhelmed U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees and caused the U.S. Postal Service to temporarily halt packages from China and Hong Kong. Within days of its announcement, Trump reversed course and delayed the cancellation of the provision.
Yesterday’s announcement, which came alongside a set of sweeping new tariffs, gives customs officials, retailers and logistics companies more time to prepare. Goods that qualify under the de minimis exemption will be subject to a duty of either 30% of their value, or $25 per item. That rate will increase to $50 per item June 1, the White House said.
Use of the de minimis provision has exploded in recent years as shoppers flock to Chinese e-commerce companies Temu and Shein, which offer apparel at ultra low cost, electronics and other items. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has said it processed more than 1.3 billion de minimis shipments in 2024, up from more than 1 billion shipments in 2023.
Not even the cheesemakers escape as tariffs sour Greek feta
Greek Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis said today that the new Trump administration tariffs signal a historic shift toward protectionism and deviate from the European Union's view of economic and social progress.
“As a country, we are in favor of free trade,” Pierrakakis said in a statement, according to Reuters, adding that “we hope that this chapter will last as little as possible.”
Trump's decision to slap a 20% tariff on the European Union has shaken the country's feta cheese producers, who were exempt from U.S. tariffs imposed in European goods in 2019.
“I’m afraid feta will not find a way out of these tariffs this time,” said Christos Apostolopoulos, head of Greece’s association of dairy industries, according to Reuters. “We have to figure it out, how to divert these quantities to other markets.”
Feta, a protected E.U. trademark since 2022, has been produced in Greece for more than 6,000 years. The country produced some 138,000 tons of feta worth 800 million euros ($882 million) last year, with around 8% of its exports reaching the U.S.
Trump administration slaps tariffs on some of the world's poorest nations
Many of the world’s poorest countries now face the highest tariffs imposed by Trump yesterday.
Lesotho in southern Africa has been slapped with the highest duty of 50%. Listed as the world’s 22nd poorest country, it primarily exports diamonds and garments, with the U.S. as one of the top five exporting destinations.
Cambodia is hit by 49% U.S. tariffs, the second highest, though the U.S. is Cambodia’s largest single-country export destination.
Madagascar in East Africa, the world’s ninth-poorest country, will face 47% reciprocal tariffs. It primarily exports vanilla, cloves and garments, with the U.S. among the top five countries it exports to.
America's foes escape tariffs — because they're already sanctioned
Trump may have threatened over the weekend to put secondary tariffs on Russian oil, but Russia isn’t among the 185 countries affected by the newest round of U.S. levies announced yesterday.
Russia is not on the list because of heavy sanctions on the country due to the Ukraine-Russia war and the U.S. currently has no trade with it, the White House told NBC News. The value of U.S.-Russia trade plunged from about $35 billion in 2021 to $3.5 billion last year, after the Biden administration introduced the measures.
While Trump promised to slap “reciprocal” tariffs on both friends and foes, he also left out Cuba, Belarus and North Korea.
Trump told NBC News on Sunday that if he believes Russia is at fault for a ceasefire not reached with Ukraine, he may impose secondary tariffs on Russian oil.
‘Major blow to the world economy’: Global leaders react to Trump’s tariffs
India's pharma industry helps cushion 26% tariff blow to its stock market
India’s shares fell Thursday after President Trump slapped a 26% tariff on India, but a comparatively lower tariff rate than neighboring China and duty exemptions on pharma companies helped cushion the blow by giving the country a comparative edge.
The Nifty 50 Indian index of India's largest stocks was trading 0.2% lower at 10:45 a.m. local time (1:15am ET), while the BSE Sensex, the country's largest index, fell 0.27%, according to Reuters. On a day when indices around the world are flashing red, those losses are relatively tiny.
Meanwhile, the country's pharma index jumped 2.6% after Trump exempted pharmaceutical products from the list of imports hit by tariffs.
The Indian trade ministry said Thursday it was “carefully examining” the implications of Trump’s tariff announcement, adding that ongoing talks between the U.S. and India were focused on “enabling both countries to grow trade, investments and technology transfers.”
Chinese auto part suppliers say Americans are picking up the tab for Trump’s tariffs
If you’ve ever fixed your own car brakes, the part you bought could very well have been made by Chinese auto parts supplier Judy Zhang.
Zhang’s company, which is based in the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao and supplies brake hoses for thousands of car models in the U.S., is among those targeted by a 25% U.S. tariff on imports of automobiles, including automobile parts, that is set to take effect Thursday.
That’s on top of a 25% tariff imposed during President Donald Trump’s first term, plus 20% tariffs he has imposed on Chinese imports since returning to office in January. On Wednesday, Trump announced an additional 34% levy on Chinese imports as part of “reciprocal” tariffs imposed on countries around the world, bringing the total combined tariff on Chinese goods to at least 54%.
Though Trump insists that China, among other countries, will pay for the U.S. tariffs, Zhang and other auto parts suppliers say that the tariffs will most likely be shouldered by American consumers and that they won’t bring manufacturing in their industry back to the United States.
Trump's tariffs "wrong" but Europe should avoid a trade war, says Italy’s Meloni
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the 20% tariff imposed on the EU was “wrong” but added the bloc should try to avert a trade war. Meloni on Thursday cancelled all engagements for the day to focus on Italy's actions in response to U.S. tariffs, the Italian government said in a statement.
“The tariffs are wrong and not in the interest of either party,” Meloni, a close ally of President Trump, said in a post on Facebook on Thursday. “We will do everything we can to work towards an agreement with the United States, with the goal of avoiding a trade war that would inevitably weaken the West in favor of other global players,” she added.
Italy's food and drinks industry will be hit hard by the new tariffs, and Meloni on Wednesday told business leaders in the sector that the EU may need to adopt “appropriate responses,” according to Reuters.
Italian trade association Federvini also said it was bracing to relive the “economic trauma” caused by tariffs in Trump’s first term, when exports fell by 50%.
“Many labels, which cannot be replaced by local production, will disappear from the tables of U.S. consumers, while a serious production and employment crisis is looming in Italy and Europe,” Federvini President Micaela Pallini said in a statement.
Unpopulated, remote island not immune from Trump’s tariffs
The sweeping tariffs Trump announced today stretched around the globe, including the remote Heard and McDonald Islands, which are populated by zero humans but lots of seals and penguins.
Despite having no apparent exports or imports, the sub-Antarctic islands, which are an external territory of Australia, will be subject to a 10% tariff, according to a document the White House provided during Trump’s tariff announcement today.
Other tiny nations and territories were also hit with 10% tariffs, including Tokelau, a dependent territory of New Zealand, with a population of around 1,600 people, and the Cocos Islands, another territory of Australia, with a population of around 600 people.