Global trade war flares up! Trump imposed new tariffs on 60 countries including Israel-EU, India also involved, Global trade war erupts! Trump imposes new tariffs on 60 countries, including Israel and the EU; India also caught in the net.

A major decision of US President Donald Trump has created a stir in the business corridors of the whole world. The Trump administration has officially announced the imposition of a huge new tariff (import duty) ranging from 10% to 12.5% ​​on goods coming from 60 major trading partner countries of the world, including India, the European Union (EU), Israel and New Zealand. After this historic and strict decision, which came into effect from Friday, there is an outcry in the global markets. The most shocking thing is that Trump has not kept even his closest strategic friend Israel out of this economic action, after which the fear of breaking out of a new trade war at the global level has deepened.

Serious allegation of forced labor and section 301 of the Trade Act.

According to the official order issued from Washington, America has accused these 60 countries that they have completely failed to impose an effective ban on the import and trade of goods made through forced labour. The US Trade Representative (USTR) has taken this strict action under Section 301 of the Trade Act 1974, which gives the President the prerogative to take such strong steps against unfair trade policies that affect US commerce. These new rates will replace the temporary global tariff that recently expired.

Ruckus from Israel to New Zealand, how much tax was imposed on which country?

The US administration has divided these 60 countries into two different slabs based on their current policies.

• Tariff slab of 10%: 17 countries including India, European Union (EU), Britain, Canada, Mexico and Pakistan have been included in this category. These countries got some relief because they have shown some partial laws or commitments to stop forced labour.

• Tariff slab of 12.5%: A direct additional import duty of 12.5% ​​has been imposed on the remaining 43 countries like China, Israel, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, South Korea and Brazil.

  
  

  This decision is going to directly affect about 99.4% of the total imports coming to the American markets, which has broken the back of the global supply chain.

Big blow to Indian exporters, relief to crude oil and gas

The decision is likely to cause a direct hit to India’s textile, handicrafts, engineering goods and agro-based export sectors, as the US is one of the largest markets for Indian products. However, the Trump administration, showing strategic astuteness, has kept some selected essential goods like crude oil, natural gas, selected fertilizers and essential agricultural products out of the scope of this tariff (exempted) so that inflation does not run rampant in the American domestic market.

Global reaction: Allies reject US move

Many major American allies, including the European Union (EU) and New Zealand, have expressed strong displeasure over this decision of Washington. Trade experts and human rights organizations say that the problem of forced labor is global and the US itself is not completely untouched by it, so targeting friendly countries only on the basis of trade volume is unfair and tantamount to inviting retaliatory economic actions.