‘Chaos’: World leaders slam Trump’s tariff bomb as global economy reels
Leaders from around the world are reacting negatively to President Donald Trump’s announcement on Wednesday of new tariffs on various countries ranging from 10% to 54%.
Trump signed an executive order kicking off the tariff hikes at a White House event marked by a rambling speech where he promoted conspiracy theories and economic ideas widely panned by experts.
In early trading on the stock market, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 1,500 points and the Nasdaq composite and S&P 500 indexes all cratered. Global reaction across multiple continents was negative as Americans brace for price hikes directly connected to Trump’s actions.
“There seems to be no order in the disorder. No clear path through the complexity and chaos that is being created as all US trading partners are hit,” Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, told reporters on Thursday.
French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou called the tariffs “a catastrophe for the economic world,” adding, “It is an immense difficulty for Europe. I believe that it is also a catastrophe for the United States and for American citizens.”
“The decision by the US tonight to impose 20% tariffs on imports from across the European Union is deeply regrettable. I strongly believe that tariffs benefit no one,” Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin wrote on Wednesday.
Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba described Trump’s actions as “extremely regrettable and against our wishes.” Acting South Korean President Han Duck-soo said the tariffs had raised the specter of a “global tariff war.”
A spokesperson for the Chinese government said, “History shows that increasing tariffs cannot solve the United States’ own problems. It harms U.S. interests and endangers global economic development as well as industrial and supply chain stability.”
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the tariffs were “wrong” and would “inevitably weaken the West.”
“Unilaterally imposed and punitive tariffs are a concern and serve as a barrier to trade and shared prosperity,” the office of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa noted.
Domestically, even some Republicans have begun to show that they have concerns about Trump’s tariff actions. In a Wednesday vote, four Republican senators joined Democrats in a vote to cancel the “national emergency” Trump declared to justify previous tariffs against Canada.
Responding to the new round of announcements, Democratic Party Chairman Ken Martin said in a statement, “Donald Trump is actively driving the economy off the rails—and he doesn’t care how much ‘pain’ he’s causing in the process.”
A YouGov poll conducted Wednesday shows the public is not behind Trump: 51% of respondents said they either strongly or somewhat disapprove of Trump’s tariff actions. Similarly, an overwhelming majority—67%—said they thought the price of goods would increase.
The entire world, including Americans, has given a thumbs down to Trump’s tariff tirade. Only Trump, his inner circle, and most of his Republican allies seem to think this will all work out.