Of Athena Papakosta

Markets worldwide have been sinking since the day United States President Donald Trump has announced new sweeping duties on imports from almost all economies in the world. From Shanghai to Tokyo and from Sydney to Hong Kong, the indicators dived into levels that had been… for decades. In Europe, losses continued to be recorded as Wall Street began dancing to the crazy rhythm of fluctuations amid fakenews for a 90 -day cessation of the US president’s tariff policy.

The landscape came to be re -transformed with Donald Trump’s ultimatum against China. As he pointed out, the President of the United States – in another posting on his own social media, Truth Social – if Beijing does not withdraw 34% of its duties on US products to date, Tuesday, April 8, then Washington will impose additional duties on April 9%. Which practically means that the White House tenant … went crazy and Chinese products will face 104% (!) Total duties and this is because last week, from the White House garden, Donald Trump had already announced an additional 34% duties.

The president of the United States is risking another dangerous escalation, while already his initial decision to declare trade war has caused irrevocable bleeding in markets seeing three trillion meetings to become smoke.

China, however, has already chosen to respond with the same currency and makes it clear that Beijing is not blackmailed.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said yesterday that “The United States aims at hegemony in the name of reciprocity” and emphasized that “this is a classic case of unilateral, protectionism and economic bullying”.

US consumers, only last year, bought products of a total of $ 440 billion from China, the second country after Mexico with the most exports of products to the United States. If the new Trump threat becomes a reality, then those who import products from the China market will see their costs double.

The US president also threatens to put an end to the negotiations requested by Beijing itself. At this point, he did not hesitate to warn again and any other countries they choose to follow the Chinese road and take back measures against Washington.

In Europe, however, the Ministers of Commerce met in Luxembourg for the purpose of drawing a common strategy. First step is the dialogue with the United States. However, the single line is demanded.

It has already been preceded by a list of US products that could impose duties with the proposed measures of the ’27’ union being voted on Wednesday.

And as long as the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Laien, is in consultations with leading representatives of European industry, in order to record the damage and determine the Union’s strategy for the next steps, Europe, according to Moody’s, is in danger. Ireland, Slovakia, Germany, Hungary, Italy and Austria are the most vulnerable member states, and if the trade war is further escalating, then the pocket of European consumers will hurt more.