TRUMP DECLARES TRADE WAR

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has signed an executive order imposing what he refers to as "reciprocal tariffs" on American imports, announcing steep tariffs of 34% on Chinese goods and 20% on the European Union. The minimum tariff threshold is set at 10%.

Chinese products will face a 34% tariff, the European Union 20%, Japan 24%, Taiwan 32%, and India 26%, among other countries. These surcharges reflect the so-called non-tariff barriers these nations impose on US goods, such as health regulations and environmental standards.

EUROPEAN UNION FACING SLOWER GROWTH

 The European Union (EU) will now have to contend with the 20% tariffs officially imposed by US President Donald Trump. 

According to analysts at ING, a leading Dutch-based financial institution providing banking, insurance, and investment services across Europe, the general 20% tariffs could reduce eurozone GDP growth by 0.3 percentage points over the next two years. 

"But there’s more than just the direct impact. Consider the secondary effects these tariffs will have on consumer and business confidence across Europe. It’s likely to dampen consumption and investment. This would keep the eurozone’s economic growth at a snail’s pace," they noted. 

JP MORGAN: HIGH RISK OF RECESSION

 "The risk of a global recession this year has risen to 60%, up from 40%," said analysts at JP Morgan, describing the new tariffs as the biggest tax hike on US households and businesses since 1968.

"The effect of this tax increase is likely to be magnified by retaliation, a drop in US business confidence, and disruptions to supply chains." 

China has already announced a 34% retaliatory tariff on all goods imported from the United States, effective 10 April, in direct response to Trump’s measures. 

While Trump has expressed a willingness to negotiate these aggressive tariffs with key trade partners, he insists it will only happen if they offer something "phenomenal". 

US JOBS ON THE RISE 

The US labour market outperformed expectations in March, with the creation of 228,000 new jobs, according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics. This figure surpassed both the downwardly revised 117,000 jobs in the previous month (originally 151,000) and the consensus forecast of 135,000. 

Job gains were notably strong in healthcare, social assistance, transportation and warehousing, as well as retail, partly reflecting the return of workers following a strike. 

TECH STOCKS TAKE A HIT 

Shares of the "Magnificent Seven"—a group comprising the top tech giants—dipped moderately in pre-market trading on Friday. 

This comes after President Trump implemented the highest US tariffs in a century, triggering a sell-off in tech stocks the day before. 

Among the group, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Meta (NASDAQ: META), Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), and Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) all saw share price declines of less than 1%. 

APPLE & AMAZON: HARDEST HIT 

Apple, highly exposed to tariff risks due to its heavy manufacturing presence in China, lost over $300 billion in market value. 

With nearly all iPhones sold in the US manufactured in China—along with a large share of Macs, iPads, Apple Watches and AirPods—tariffs could severely impact Apple’s financial performance.

Amazon also suffered a significant blow, with its share price dropping 9%, translating into a market value loss of nearly $190 billion. This marked a notable moment for the e-commerce and cloud computing giant, as its market cap fell below the $2 trillion threshold. 

AND WHAT ABOUT ARGENTINA? 

Despite global uncertainty sparked by the US’s new tariff policy, the Argentine government remains confident it can secure zero-tariff status. Officials are also unconcerned about the IMF agreement. 

“Mercosur was originally assigned a 35% tariff, but Trump reduced it to just 10% because of his intent to prioritise the region, particularly Argentina,” official sources explained. 

Negotiations with the US are well advanced to eliminate tariffs on 50 specific products. The government acknowledges that “these processes are slow”, but insists it is working to create conditions to quintuple trade with the United States. TARIFFS ON LATIN AMERICA: THE LEAST AFFECTED 

President Trump announced 10% tariffs on most Latin American countries, with harsher exceptions for Nicaragua and Venezuela, despite several of these nations maintaining a trade surplus in favour of Washington. 

The new tariff structure seeks to enforce trade reciprocity and could reshape the regional economic landscape. 

For the US’s northern neighbours, the same threat remains: a 25% tariff on all goods not covered under the USMCA trade agreement (formerly NAFTA). Products compliant with the deal remain tariff-free, while non-compliant goods face tariffs of either 25% or 10%, depending on the sector.