U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of sweeping tariffs on America’s trading partners has widened the rift between the United States and some of its closest allies while reconfiguring the global economic order.
Trump’s plan, which he unveiled on Wednesday and is calling "reciprocal,” would impose a wave of tariffs on dozens of countries. Among America’s most important trading partners affected were the European Union, which will face 20% tariffs under the plan, and China, which will absorb an additional 34% on top of existing levies.
The new tariffs represent "a major blow to the world economy,” Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said in a press statement early Thursday morning. "The global economy will massively suffer. Uncertainty will spiral, and trigger the rise of further protectionism.”
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