A look at Trump's tariffs

AWANI

Awani International takes a look at the timeline of Trump 2.0 tariffs, gives an overview of how it began, and compares it with the president’s first term.

Transcript

00:00We start Awani International tonight with a timeline of Trump 2.0 tariff

00:05just to give an overview of how this began and how it compared to the US President's first term

00:10back in 2016. President Trump's second term economic doctrine is here. It's bigger, bolder,

00:17and riskier. It began on February 1st. A 25% tariff slammed into all goods from Canada and

00:24Mexico, though Canada's energy sector caught a softer 10%. China wasn't sped either. A

00:3110% levy returned, but that was just the beginning. By February 10th, steel and aluminium terrace

00:38were back, tougher than ever. Aluminium doubled from 10% to 25%, steel locked in at 25%. Then,

00:47a temporary reprieve. On March 6th, USMCA allies were granted a 30-day delay. Some automotive

00:54and agricultural goods got a pass, but only until April 2nd, the Liberation Day. Now,

01:02March 26th delivered another shock. 25% tariff on all imported cars, trucks, and auto parts.

01:10Unless it's made in the US, expect to pay more. Then came the reciprocal tariffs, and it took

01:17effect on most imports. But here's the kicker. Countries with big trade surpluses now face tariffs

01:24up to 50%. However, a slight breather came April 9th. Tariffs above 10% were paused for 90 days,

01:33but the clock is ticking. On July 9th, higher tariffs snapped back into place. Malaysia, for example,

01:39avoids a 24% tariff for now. And in a selective carve-out, April 12th brought just some relief.

01:48Smartphones, laptops, laptops, semiconductors spared from tariffs. It's a nod to tax supply chains,

01:55and perhaps, Silicon Valley politics. Now, we go to the next slide, where in 2018 to 2019,

02:04only US$425 billion worth of goods were taxed. Trump 2.0, over 1.6 trillion. That's more than half of all US imports.

02:16The scope expanded from 12,600 to 17,600 product categories. Now, this tariff regime

02:25is 3.5 times bigger. More sectors, more pain, and global fallout. And Southeast Asia is directly

02:34in the crosshairs. ASEAN exports US$352.3 billion worth of goods to the US. And that's over 10%

02:43of America's entire import volume. Vietnam, of course, leads with 136.6 billion. Thailand follows

02:52with 63.3 billion. Malaysia alone sends 52.5 billion to the US. And Singapore rounds out the top four

03:00at 43.2 billion US dollars. But with the reciprocal tariff mechanism, that trade is now vulnerable,

03:07especially after July 9th. It's a geopolitical signal that the US is no longer afraid to weaponize

03:13access to its market. For ASEAN, the message is clear. Diversify or pay the price. The tariff clock

03:20is ticking. And July 9th may even bring a harsher reality.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended