Trump's tariffs are launched, and many countries have announced countermeasures! "Tariffs will cost American families an extra $36,000 per year"! Japanese and Korean stock markets crashed

South Korea's acting President Han Deok-soo ordered emergency support measures for companies affected by U.S. tariffs and instructed the industry minister to negotiate with the United States to reduce the impact of tariffs.

Many countries announced countermeasures

Currently, the European Union and several of the United States' trading partners have stated that they will respond to the U.S. tariff policy with retaliatory tariffs and other countermeasures.

Australian Prime Minister Albanese said on the 3rd that "the Trump administration's tariff policy has no logical basis and goes against the foundation of our bilateral partnership" and "this is not the behavior of a friend."

Manfred Weber, chairman of the European People's Party, the largest political group in the European Parliament, said on the evening of the 2nd: "For our American friends, today is not a 'liberation day', but a 'resentment day'. Trump's tariff policy is not to defend fair trade, but to attack fair trade out of fear."

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at the European Parliament plenary meeting held in Strasbourg, France on the 1st that the US's practice of imposing tariffs is wrong, and widespread tariff increases will only make the international trade situation worse. The EU has a strong counter-measure plan and will fight back against the US tariff policy if necessary.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in Ottawa on April 2 local time that Trump's tariff policy has fundamentally changed international relations. Although the United States has not listed Canada as a country subject to "reciprocal tariffs", it still imposes tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum, automobiles, semiconductors, wood, etc., and Canada must respond to this. He said that he would try to minimize the difficulties caused to Canadians by the US tariffs.

On April 2, local time, the Brazilian House of Representatives reviewed and passed the economic equivalence bill urgently submitted by the Senate Economic Affairs Committee the day before. At present, the bill has been formally submitted to Brazilian President Lula for signature and approval. It is reported that this bill aims to authorize the Brazilian government to take countermeasures when the country's foreign trade interests are damaged. The bill stipulates that for unilateral actions of countries or economic groups that have a negative impact on Brazil's international competitiveness, the Brazilian Foreign Trade Commission is authorized to "take countermeasures in the form of restricting the import of goods and services."

Democrats: The average American household

This will cost more than $5,000

It is reported that Trump called April 2 the "Liberation Day" of the United States, but the U.S. House of Representatives Minority Leader Jeffries emphasized on the same day that it was actually the "recession day" of the U.S. economy.

Trump said that "America will be rich again", and Senate Minority Leader Schumer pointed out that due to the Trump administration's tariff policy, Americans are facing an overall increase in the cost of living, and the average American family will spend more than $5,000 (about 36,341 yuan) more each year.

Economists are concerned that Trump's tariff policy will inevitably push up U.S. inflation and damage consumer confidence. The consequence of imposing tariffs is to increase production costs throughout the region, push up prices, and ultimately be paid by U.S. consumers.

The Yale University Budget Lab's forecast shows that after the implementation of "reciprocal tariffs", if other countries do not take retaliatory measures, the price of personal consumption expenditure in the United States will rise by 1.7% in the short term, and the real GDP growth rate in 2025 will drop by 0.6 percentage points; if other countries take retaliatory measures, the increase in personal consumption expenditure prices in the United States will expand to 2.1%, and the real GDP growth rate will drop by 1 percentage point.

Data from the Conference Board at the end of March showed that the U.S. consumer confidence index in March was 92.9, which has fallen for the fourth consecutive month. Among them, the consumer expectations index, which reflects the short-term income outlook, business and job market environment, fell to 65.2, the lowest level in 12 years. When the consumer expectations index falls below 80, it is usually a signal that the economy will enter a recession.

60% of Americans surveyed disagree

US economists: Trump will lose everything

Polling agency data has also sounded a warning about the Trump administration's handling of the economy. A new poll released on March 31 by the Associated Press and the University of Chicago's National Opinion Research Center showed that as trade disputes between the United States and many countries continue to escalate, about 60% of Americans surveyed disapproved of the current U.S. government's handling of tariffs and trade negotiations.

Economists are concerned that Trump's tariff policy will inevitably push up U.S. inflation and damage consumer confidence. Bruce Kasman, chief global economist at JPMorgan Chase, expressed great concern about the U.S. economy earlier in March, predicting that the probability of a U.S. recession this year is about 40%, significantly higher than the 30% predicted at the beginning of the year.

American economist Jeffrey Sachs bluntly stated that imposing tariffs is a bad policy, and Trump’s triple calculations of tariff policy will “lose everything.”

Sachs believes that, first of all, Trump uses tariffs as a threat. However, for many countries, these threats have no effect because the US market, although of considerable size, is not strategically critical. In addition, in order to cater to domestic nationalist sentiments, officials from various countries will not easily give in.

Second, the Trump administration hopes to increase fiscal revenue and reduce taxes by imposing tariffs. However, data shows that tariffs "do not generate much revenue." The root cause of the US government's fiscal crisis is that the government's annual expenditure far exceeds fiscal revenue, and tariff revenue is not enough to fundamentally solve the fiscal crisis.

Third, Trump claims that tariffs can revive American industry. However, protectionism cannot develop industry. It will only make the United States fall behind and fail to improve its competitiveness.

Fundamentally, the United States is making the mistake of isolating itself. Countries and their leaders around the world feel that the United States is bullying, which neither helps the United States to ensure its own security, nor is it conducive to its prosperity and development, let alone gaining the trust of the United States in the international community.