From the Semafor Business newsletter:

US trading partners face a choice: dig in or make a deal? So far those with the most to lose are retaliating, betting that a falling stock market will weaken Trump’s negotiating position.

China’s government promised to “fight to the end,” responded with tariffs of its own, and has ramped up scrutiny of some Western companies and deals. Mexico, the US’ biggest trading partner, hasn’t ruled out reciprocal tariffs but is so far holding off. EU countries “want to give the US time to think about the whole situation as the US market lost 5 trillion within a few days,” a Polish official said at a meeting of European trade ministers.

Smaller economies like Vietnam and Israel have capitulated, dropping their own tariffs on US goods. Also eager to deal are those with few retaliatory options, like Japan, an island nation that relies on US imports of medicines and meat and has been eyeing big purchases of American natural gas. (Japan’s status as America’s biggest creditor likely helped it land at the front of the negotiating line, following a 25-minute call between Trump and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Tuesday.)

Read more here.

Posted by semafornews

20 comments

  1. Vietnam literally has 0 self-respect. These tariffs are not about other countries tariffing the USA, it’s about trying to balance trade deficits. They are just lying about the reason.

  2. Apple is already looking to move some of its production in China to India…

  3. The color scheme makes me feel I’m playing Tropico 6.

  6. Trump is too untrustworthy to make a deal with anyway, so why bother? Delay with words to his face while decoupling as quickly as possible.

  7. Obviously China exports haven’t significantly decreased, despite increasing tariffs since 2018. So what’s the point of those then?

  8. Obviously China exports haven’t significantly decreased, despite increasing tariffs since 2018. So what’s the point of those then?

  9. Sick graph. Lots of people are going to spam this thread soon with Orange man bad. But gotta say this is a dope little infographic.

  11. Israel offered 0 tariffs on American goods AND offered to close the trade deficit and still didn’t get a deal. Most countries can’t offer closing trade deficits. 

  12. I hate the mango as the next guy, but this chart stops at 2024… what trend are we seeing since he took office?

  13. >Smaller economies like Vietnam and Israel have capitulated, dropping their own tariffs on US goods.

    They haven’t really capitulated. They offered free trade in return for free trade which was basically already a thing.

    The US then shot that down and is saying this isn’t about tarrifs but trade deficit, and they will need to “fix” the trade deficit to avoid tarrifs. 

    So none of those places are actually putting 0 tarrifs in place because the US said it wouldn’t accept that.

  14. I.e., not a single country has capitulated to the extortion.

  15. Vietnam offering zero tariffs will not close the trade deficit, the Vietnamese have no use for US goods and can’t afford them anyways. Antagonizing our best replacement for China is some idiotic work.

    US already has the “One China Policy” with Taiwan. We are already contractually obligated to sell them weapons and maintain our own ability to defend them. Zero tariffs may lower price of chips but it won’t shift manufacturing to the US, in fact it will likely have the opposite effect.

    This is all so stupid.

  16. The countries negotiating are actually the dumbest countries, if we all hit the US hard, they will get the memo.

    But if you’re gonna beg, he’s just gonna do it again.

  17. Of your list, Taiwan is very dependent on the US for military support, and Vietnam don’t really import anything anyway so 0/0 tariffs are pretty meaningless.

    The UK needs to toughen up and form part of the global pushback with Europe and China. I really hope we rise to the occasion this time.

  18. Taiwan hasn’t offered zero tariffs… Taiwan said it is open to zero tariffs if a FTA can be reached, as in, zero tariffs only if the USA agrees to zero tariffs right back.

  20. so know country is looking at opening up trade with a NON USA country?

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