By GB News (World News) | Created at 2025-04-05 07:16:18 | Updated at 2025-04-05 18:19:45
11 hours ago
Donald Trump's trade war has taken effect, with a 10 per cent baseline tariff being imposed on countries on Saturday.
Higher levies on goods from 57 major trading partners will also come into effect next week, just days after $5trillion was wiped off in stock market value.
The 10 per cent baseline tariff came into effect at US seaports, airports, and customs warehouses at 12.01am ET , signaling Trump’s full departure from the post-World War II system of mutually agreed-upon tariff rates.
Kelly Ann Shaw, a trade lawyer at Hogan Lovells and former White House trade adviser during Trump’s first term, said: “This is the single biggest trade action of our lifetime.”
Trump's trade war has taken effect - wiping out $5 trillion in stock market value
REUTERS
Speaking at a Brookings Institution event on Thursday, Shaw noted that the tariffs were likely to evolve as countries negotiated for lower rates. “But this is huge," she said. "This is a pretty seismic and significant shift in the way that we trade with every country on Earth.”
Trump’s tariff announcement on Wednesday rattled global stock markets, erasing $5trillion in stock market value for S&P 500 companies by Friday’s close — a record two-day loss. Oil and commodity prices also plummeted, while investors flocked to the safety of government bonds.
Countries such as Australia, the UK, Colombia, Argentina, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia were among the first to be hit by the 10 per cent tariff.
A US Customs and Border Protection notice indicated no grace period for cargoes on the water at midnight Saturday.
Sir Keir Starmer is expected to spend the weekend speaking with foreign leaders about the tariffs
GETTY
Trump is excluding certain goods from these tariffs, including steel, aluminum, cars, trucks, and auto parts, as well as over 1,000 product categories worth $645billion in 2024 imports, like crude oil, pharmaceuticals, titanium, semiconductors, and copper.
The administration is also investigating several sectors for additional national security tariffs.
Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer is expected to spend the weekend speaking with foreign leaders about the tariffs after discussing the situation with the Prime Ministers of Australia and Italy on Friday. The leaders agreed that a full-scale trade war would be "extremely damaging".
Downing Street confirmed that Starmer had spoken with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, emphasising that the UK’s response would be shaped by national interests.
A spokesman said the Prime Minister “has been clear the UK’s response will be guided by the national interest” and officials will “calmly continue with our preparatory work, rather than rush to retaliate”.
The spokesman added: “He discussed this approach with both leaders, acknowledging that while the global economic landscape has shifted this week, it has been clear for a long time that like-minded countries must maintain strong relationships and dialogue to ensure our mutual security and maintain economic stability.”
It is anticipated that Starmer will continue discussions with other counterparts over the weekend.
