Economists are warning of the possibility of a global trade war as some of the world's biggest economies promise retaliatory action against U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs. Some of the the U.S.'s biggest trading partners, including Canada, Mexico, China and the European Union, have all promised some form of response if the tariffs are implemented on February 4.
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00:00Negotiate or retaliate?
00:06Countries around the world are responding to U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping
00:09tariffs, set to strike some of the country's biggest trading partners on Tuesday, with
00:15southern neighbor Mexico both promising retaliation and urging Trump to come to the negotiating
00:21table.
00:22And to the north, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced Canada's own two-stage 25 percent
00:45tariff plan on $107 billion worth of American goods, matching the taxes Trump levied
00:52on Canada and Mexico.
00:54And speaking directly to the American people, Trudeau warned that it's citizens who will
00:59pay the price for a trade war.
01:17Across the Atlantic, European leaders are meeting in Brussels, in anticipation of their
01:22own round of tariffs, which Trump has said will definitely happen, with the European
01:27Commission saying they'll respond firmly to any unfair action.
01:31The UK, however, could be spared if, Trump says, a deal is struck.
01:37And, as the U.S. dollar soars, stock markets across Europe and Asia, including in Taiwan,
02:03tumbled on Monday as investors digested the impact of the tariffs.
02:08And while China says they plan to file a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization over Trump's
02:1310 percent tariffs on their imports, a report from the Wall Street Journal says that Beijing
02:18has plans to propose restoring the unused Phase 1 trade agreement from 2020, a deal
02:24that required China to increase purchases of American products by 200 billion U.S. dollars
02:31over a two-year period.
02:33Taipei, meanwhile, has said it will offer support to Taiwanese businesses affected by
02:37Trump's tariffs to relocate to the United States.
02:41Taiwan's tech companies are particularly vulnerable, as many have factories in both Mexico and
02:47China.
02:48Amid foggy details and the threat of further tariffs, economists are warning that the global
02:53economy is facing a lot of uncertainty.
03:24Despite admitting that U.S. citizens will feel the financial pinch in the short term,
03:28Donald Trump remains firm on his America First policy, even if that means frustrating some
03:34of the U.S.'s closest political and economic allies, and risks plunging the world into
03:40a global trade war of unprecedented scale.
03:44James Lynn, Rosie Grenager, and Rhys Ayres for Taiwan Plus.