The world reacts with caution to “reciprocal” prices

Mexico City (AP) – The new radical prices announced on Wednesday by US President Donald Trump were initially encountered by measured reactions from key business partners, highlighting the lack of appetite for a full -fledged trade war.

The fact that the prices fell most strongly on parts of the world that slept all night seemed at least temporarily delaying part of the potential indignation.

Trump has presented the import taxes, which he calls “reciprocal prices” and varies from 10% to 49%, in the simplest terms: the United States would make his business partners what he said in the United States for decades.

“Taxpayers have been scammed for over 50 years,” he said. “But it will not happen anymore.”

The president promised that “jobs and factories will return to our country”. He supervised it not only as an economic problem, but a question of national security which threatens “our way of life”.

‘No one wants a trade war’

Shortly after Trump’s announcement, the British government said the United States remained “the nearest ally” in the United Kingdom.

Affairs Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the United Kingdom hoped to conclude a trade agreement to “mitigate the impact” 10% prices on British products announced by Trump.

“No one wants a trade war and our intention remains to conclude an agreement,” said Reynolds. “But nothing is outside table and the government will do everything necessary to defend the national interest of the United Kingdom.”

British officials have said that they would not immediately retaliate, an approach supported by the Confederation of British industry, a large group of companies.

The first first Italian curator Giorgia Meloni described the new 20% prices against the European Union as “erroneous”, saying that they do not benefit from any of the parties.

“We will do our best to work for an agreement with the United States, with the aim of avoiding a trade war that would inevitably weaken the West in favor of other global actors,” said Meloni in an article on Facebook. “In any case, as always, we will act in the interest of Italy and its economy, also chatting with other European partners,” she added.

Little to win

For the moment, the last prices were spared by Mexico and Canada, with regard to the goods that already qualified under their free trade agreement with the United States. However, prices of 25% previously announced on automotive imports had to take effect at midnight.

Mexico president Claudia Sheinbaum said on Wednesday that she would wait to take action Thursday when he was clear how Trump’s announcement would affect Mexico.

“It is not a question of whether you impose prices for me, I will impose prices for you,” she said in a press briefing on Wednesday morning. “Our interest is to strengthen the Mexican economy.”

Canada had imposed reprisals in response to the 25% prices that Trump has linked to fentanyl traffic. The European Union, in response to steel and aluminum prices, imposed taxes on 26 billion euros ($ 28 billion) of American products, including bourbon, which prompted Trump to threaten a 200% rate on European alcohol.

While Trump has read the list of countries that would be targeted on Wednesday, he said on several occasions that they were not blamed for them for the rates and non -tariff obstacles that they have imposed to protect companies from their own nations. “But we are doing the same right now,” he said.

“Faced with an implacable economic war, the United States can no longer pursue a unilateral economic surrender policy,” said Trump.

Speaking by a commercial forum in India, the Chilean president Gabriel Boric warned that such measures, in addition to provoking uncertainty, dispute the “mutually agreed rules” and the “principles which govern international trade”.

In the end, Trump announced that Chile would face the 10%reference reciprocal rate. The United States is the second most important trading partner in Chile after China.

Analysts say that there is not much to win in a total trade war, neither in the United States nor in other countries.

“Once again, Trump put Europe to a crossroads,” said Matteo Villa, principal analyst at the Italian Institute for International Political Studies.

“If Trump really imposes high prices, Europe will have to respond, but the paradox is that the EU would do better to do nothing,” he added.

Villa has also noted that reprisals would certainly be an additional “blow” in the United States, but that would harm Europe even more, because the EU block depends more on the exports to the United States than Vice Versa.

“On the other hand, Trump seems to understand that the language of force, which indicates the need for a strong and immediate response,” said Villa. “Probably the hope, in Brussels, is that the answer will be strong enough to encourage Trump to negotiate and, soon, to go back.”

Journalists from the whole world have contributed to this story.

Originally published: April 2, 2025 at 4:10 p.m.