The Global Impact of the Latest U.S. Tariffs

0:00Today on State of the World, the impact of the latest U.S. tariffs.

0:09You're listening to State of the World from NPR. We bring you the day's most vital international stories up close where they're happening. It's Monday, August 4th. I'm Greg Dixon. President Donald Trump's worldwide tariff wars continue. A top priority of his administration is resetting U.S. trade relations around the globe. But as an August 1st deadline for new trade agreements came and went, few actual deals emerged. So the White House announced a new round of tariffs, with imports from dozens of countries being hit with new duties. On today's episode, we're going to hear from reporters around the world about how countries are reacting to the tariffs and what the impact could be.

0:52We're going to the Middle East, Asia, and Southern Africa, and NPR's Jackie Northam starts us off with one of the more surprising countries to be hit, America's neighbor to the north. Canada, one of the U.S.'s largest trading partners, wasn't spared from this latest round of tariffs. Trump ratcheted up levies on many goods to 35%, citing what he called a flood of fentanyl crossing the border, despite many sources disputing that claim, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who was elected about three months ago largely on the belief he could wrangle Trump, said he was disappointed, but that Canada will continue to negotiate with the U.S.

1:33on the trading relationship. These latest tariffs do not impact products that are compliant with the free trade agreement between the countries. But levies on Canadian steel and aluminum are at 50%. The chill on investment is very real between Canada and the United States. Jamie Tronis, Executive Director of the Centre for North American Prosperity and Security, a Canadian think tank, said these levies will crimp investment and hurt Canada's economy. We're seeing a lot of factories and other businesses saying, maybe we shouldn't expand now, maybe we shouldn't build that second factory. Trump's treatment of Canada, from belittling its former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, to vowing to make the country the 51st state, has bewildered and angered many Canadians.

2:19It's led to a wave of nationalism and boycotts of American-made products and travel to the U.S. Tronis says Canada is realizing it's going to have to pay to be an ally. Jackie Northam, NPR News. In southern Africa, the tariffs were a mixed bag. The tiny kingdom of Lesotho got some respite, having managed to negotiate the U.S. down from a whopping 50 % to just 15%. However, as Lesotho's trade minister Moketi Shilele told NPR last month, no deal would undo the damage already done by the threat alone. It's going to arrive a bit late for the jobs that have been lost. It's going to take at least six months for things to get back.

3:00The impoverished country declared a national state of disaster in July after a lack of orders by spooked buyers caused factories to close and lay off workers. While Lesotho got a reduction, South Africa, the region's biggest economy, failed to successfully negotiate with the Trump administration. It is facing 30 % tariffs that could prove disastrous for its agricultural sector. The currency, the RAND, tanked on the tariffs news, hitting its lowest level in months. On Friday, President Cyril Ramaphosa told reporters intensive negotiations with the U.S. were continuing ahead of the new August 7 deadline.

3:36They are a huge economy, the biggest economy in the world. So we've got to respond to the United States tariff proposals. But President Trump has had the country in his crosshairs this year, falsely accusing the government of persecuting the white minority. The government now says it is looking at diversifying its exports markets. China is already its largest trade partner. For NPR News, I'm Kate Bartlett in Johannesburg. Here in the Middle East, there are a couple of illuminating examples. Syria got slammed with the highest tariffs, 41 percent. It's a bit perplexing because President Trump has recently ordered lifting sweeping trade sanctions imposed on Syria during the previous regime, which was toppled last year.

4:23He said it was to give Syria a chance at greatness. The thing is, it won't have much impact on the U.S. Gilberto Garcia-Vasquez is chief economist at DataWheel, a U.S. economic data firm. He says last year the U.S. imported just$10.7 million of goods from Syria and exported about$2 million. They are merely symbolic, right? They are not going to create any disruption in trade because mostly there's no trade between these two countries. But here in Jordan, there's a lot more at stake. Bilateral trade last year reached$3.5 billion, Most of it accounted for by Jordanian clothing exports, made in free trade zones here and sold to some of the most popular American clothing companies.

5:11Jordan's tariff rate is now 15%. That might not sound like a lot, but it replaces an agreement of zero tariffs that have been in place for more than a decade. Economists expect higher made-in-Jordan clothing costs in the U.S. And here in Jordan, a poor country that's a close U.S. ally, There are fears of job losses. Jane Arath, NPR News, Amman. Southeast Asia didn't do too badly overall, with the region's six largest exporters being tagged with tariffs of 20 percent or lower, including Thailand and Cambodia, which saw their proposed tariffs reduced from 36 percent to 19 percent. Manageable, according to both.

5:53That number came after a stern warning from President Trump last weekend of no deal unless the two ended a nearly week-long border conflict that left more than 40 people dead and over 200 ,000 displaced. Both sides agreed to a ceasefire that, while shaky, appears to be holding. Malaysia also came in at 19%, which Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim also called manageable. The Trump administration had already agreed to rates of 19 % with Indonesia and the Philippines and 20 % with Vietnam. Singapore was the only country to secure the 10 % minimum tariff, no surprise since the U.S. enjoys a trade surplus with the city-state.

6:35Tiny Laos and war-torn Myanmar, however, got hammered. Each hit with some of the highest tariffs in the world, 40%. Neither does much trade with the U.S., but the punitive tariffs are another blow to two struggling economies already deeply dependent on neighboring China, which may now become even more so. China is already Southeast Asia's leading trade partner overall. China and the U.S. are still negotiating their tariff agreement, with no deal reached after their latest talks. For NPR News, I'm Michael Sullivan in Chiang Rai, Thailand.

7:16That's the State of the World from NPR. Thanks for listening.

7:22Thank you.