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Updated April 03, 2025 at 17:11 PM ET
Political leaders from around the world have reacted with shock and – in some cases – apparent anger at President Trump's announcement of tariffs from between 10% and 54% against products from countries across the globe.
Traditional allies, including the European Union, South Korea and Japan, face tariffs as high as 26%, while China confronts a 34% tariff on top of an existing 20% tax on imports to the U.S. Here is a summary of global reaction to the tariffs Trump outlined Wednesday in the White House Rose Garden.
European Union
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, the EU's executive body, said the tariffs were a "major blow to the world economy." She said the move will saddle global consumers with higher inflation, medical costs and grocery bills and damage businesses through greater uncertainty, disrupted supply chains and more bureaucracy.
"There seems to be no order in the disorder, no clear path through the complexity and chaos that is being created as all U.S. trading partners are hit," von der Leyen said in a video statement. She said the EU was in negotiations with the U.S., and that the bloc — with its 450 million consumers — would continue to stand up for a rules-based worldwide trading system. But she also warned that the EU was finalizing a series of countermeasures to impose on American products to protect European interests and businesses "if negotiations fail."
The European Commission had already planned to announce a list of American products, worth $26 billion, that will be slapped with tariffs starting April 12, to maximize the impact on the U.S. while minimizing consequences for the EU. These are in response to previously implemented U.S. tariffs on European steel and aluminum.
Olaf Scholz, the chancellor of Germany, the largest economy in the EU, said the new tariffs will damage U.S. exports because of "complex supply chain dependencies that send parts back and forth a hundred times."
Ireland has Europe's biggest trade surplus with the U.S., and the country's prime minister, Micheál Martin, said Wednesday night that the 20% tariffs on imports from the EU was "deeply regrettable."
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the only European leader to attend Trump's inauguration, called the 20% placed on EU goods "wrong" and said they will "not benefit any of the parties involved."
Italy's wine growers union said the tariffs could force many producers out of business.
"This will be difficult for many," said Lamberto Frescobaldi, president of Unione Italiana Vini in a press release. "But what worries us even more is the risk of an escalating conflict between the American and European administrations."
United Kingdom
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the U.K. will take a "calm and pragmatic approach to the tariffs," opting not to impose retaliatory measures while continuing to engage in "positive discussions" with the U.S. administration on a future trading agreement. The country was hit with the minimum 10% tax on exports to the U.S.
Starmer met business leaders in Downing Street Thursday morning, and acknowledged that "clearly there will be an economic impact" from the tariffs on the UK, albeit a smaller one than if tariffs had been higher. He said President Trump had "acted for his country, and that is his mandate," and that he would do the same by redoubling efforts to strike a trade deal with the U.S. He warned that "nothing is off the table" when it comes to potential British retaliation.
"One of the great strengths of this nation is our ability to keep a cool head," Starmer said.
China and Taiwan
The Trump administration had previously imposed a 20% across-the-board tariff on all Chinese exports to the U.S, hitting Chinese exporters — who have seen orders fall — as well as small American businesses and consumers that must shoulder much of the extra costs.
The Chinese government has already sanctioned several U.S. companies and imposed its own tariffs of between 10 and 15% on a variety of U.S. agricultural imports, including chicken, pork, soy and beef.
Beijing has threatened further retaliatory measures, and said it would work more closely with neighbors Japan and South Korea.
"History shows that increasing tariffs cannot solve the United States' own problems," a spokesperson from China's Ministry of Commerce said in a statement, according to state news agency Xinhua. "There is no winner in a trade war, and protectionism leads nowhere."
Trump imposed a 32% tariff on imports from Taiwan, though he exempted the high-tech economy's semiconductor industry. On Thursday, Taipei condemned the tariffs as unfair and unreasonable. In a statement, President Lai Ching-te said Taiwan's strength makes it an "indispensable and important member in the global supply chain and in maintaining regional security."
Trump had earlier threatened tariffs as high as 100% on semiconductor chips made in Taiwan. The country is the world leader in chip manufacturing that provides much of the chips American carmakers and tech companies, including Apple, rely on.
In March, Taiwan's top chipmaker TSMC announced an additional $100 billion investment to build new chip facilities in Arizona.
South Korea and Japan
Leaders of South Korea and Japan, top U.S. allies in Asia, reacted with alarm to the 26% and 24% tariffs, respectively, imposed on them by the U.S., after failing to lobby the Trump administration for exemptions.
"As the situation is very grave with the approach of the reality of a global tariff war, the government must pour out all of its capabilities at its disposal to overcome this trade crisis," South Korea's acting president Han Duck-soo told a meeting of the nation's economic and security strategy task force.
Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said the tariffs were "extremely regrettable and against our wishes," adding that Japan will "strongly demand a review."
Japan's top government spokesman questioned whether the tariffs flouted Japan's trade agreement with the United States, as well as rules promulgated by the World Trade Organization, while the country's trade minister insisted the measures would make it more difficult for Japanese companies to invest in the U.S.
South Asia
A representative to the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to the media, said the 26% tariff on Indian goods was "a little bit reassuring."
"Although there are more high tariffs now, we are glad other countries will suffer more," he said, in reference to the fact that other Asian nations faced even higher tariffs: Vietnam at 46%, Thailand at 36%, and Indonesia at 32%.
Elsewhere in the region, Bangladesh — and its sizable garment manufacturing sector that sells to U.S. consumers — will face severe challenges, with the imposition of 37% tariffs on an industry that generates the bulk of the country's export revenues. Meanwhile Pakistan may see its crucial cotton exports struggle under the weight of tariffs of 29%.
Israel
And even Israel, another close ally of the Trump administration, will have to wrangle with a 17% tariff on exports to the U.S. The Israeli government had canceled all of its own tariffs on U.S. imports Tuesday, in an apparent attempt to gain exemptions from the latest round of American tariffs.
The U.S. is Israel's most significant trading partner. In 2024, the country exported $17.3 billion worth of goods to the U.S.
"The president's decision to apply tariff policy to Israel could harm Israel's economic stability, deter foreign investment, and weaken the competitiveness of Israeli companies in the U.S. market," said Ron Tomer, president of the Manufacturers Association of Israel, in a statement published in Israeli media.
South Africa
The office of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the "unilaterally imposed and punitive tariffs are a concern and serve as a barrier to trade and shared prosperity," but he remained committed to a "mutually beneficial trade relationship with the United States."
When Trump announced the 30% tariffs on South African goods Wednesday afternoon, he twice stated an allegation that "bad things" are happening in the country, a likely reference to what he falsely claims is the persecution of white farmers.
In February, Trump's administration cut all financial aid to the country, citing South Africa's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. In the same executive order, the U.S. also offered refuge to white Afrikaners, whom Washington has repeatedly said face persecution.
Elsewhere on the continent, some of Africa's poorest countries were hit by some of the highest U.S. tariffs, including Lesotho at 50%.
Canada
Canada was spared from President Trump's list of retaliatory tariffs, however the U.S. is still pushing ahead with a 25% tariff on all foreign-made vehicles that could impact Canada's auto industry which is heavily intertwined with the U.S. auto sector.
Canada's new Prime Minister Mark Carney said Trump's global tariffs fundamentally changed the international trading system and that Ottawa would with "purpose and with force." On Thursday afternoon, Carney announced measures to mirror US tariffs on automobiles.
Reporting was contributed by Jackie Northam in Portland, Maine; Ruth Sherlock in Rome; Rob Schmitz and Esme Nicholson in Berlin; Diaa Hadid in Mumbai; Teri Schultz in Brussels; Anthony Kuhn in Seoul; Kate Bartlett in Johannesburg; Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv; Fatima al-Kassab in London; and Emily Feng in Washington D.C.
Clarification: This piece has been updated to reflect that the White House has changed the figure showing the percentage tariff South Korea will face from 25% to 26%.
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