July 24 (Reuters) – The Trump administration on Friday imposed new tariffs of 10% and 12.5% on goods from 60 trading partners, including the European Union and China, over allegations of lax enforcement of forced labor bans, just as a temporary 10% global tariff expired.
Below are some initial reactions from policymakers.
EU FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF KAJA KALLAS
“You can’t say that for the European Union,” Kallas told Reuters on the sidelines of ASEAN meetings in Manila.
“If you compare our labour laws to the ones of the United States, I mean, we have paid vacations, we have very good labour conditions for our employees, so it’s not really grounded.
“We had a deal with America and we have kept to that deal, that side of the deal. That’s why this is a negative surprise that this agreement is not kept.”
AUSTRALIAN TRADE MINISTER DON FARRELL
Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell said the imposition of new tariffs by the United States was “completely unjustified” and that he would continue to “argue very strongly” for U.S. trade officials to remove all duties on Australian goods.
MEXICO’S ECONOMY MINISTER MARCELO EBRARD
Mexico’s Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said the country will “see no change in the effective tariff that Mexico pays,” from the new tariffs.
“One replaces the other, so tariff treatment is maintained,” he said, speaking in a video on social media.
BANK OF FRANCE GOVERNOR EMMANUEL MOULIN
“For Europe, it ought not to change much because we have the Turnberry agreement which should be respected by Donald Trump. But obviously it creates more uncertainty for world trade and clearly it’s not favourable for growth,” Moulin told BFM Business TV station.
GOVERNMENT OF BRAZIL
“Lacking a legal basis under domestic law to support its protectionist trade policy, the U.S. Trade Representative chose to manipulate an issue of great importance to human rights and workers’ rights movement,” Brazil’s government said in a statement, describing the tariffs as arbitrary and unjustified.
Brazil added it will immediately start procedures to trigger the response instruments under its “Reciprocity Law” and will take the matter to the World Trade Organization’s dispute settlement mechanism.
MALAYSIAN PRIME MINISTER ANWAR IBRAHIM
Anwar said the country was “relieved” that the 10% tariff imposed on Malaysian goods was relatively lower than other nations, according to a report on state news agency Bernama.
Malaysia will carry out further negotiations with the United States to protect national interests, he was quoted as saying.
“If we don’t get a satisfying response, we will raise the matter again,” Anwar said, according to Bernama.
PHILIPPINE TRADE MINISTER CRISTINA ROQUE
“The Philippines will continue to engage with the U.S. to emphasise that the country has a strong policy against forced labor consistent with various International Labor Organization (ILO) Conventions. In fact, just yesterday we signed a Joint Administrative Order with DOF and DOLE to provide an institutional mechanism to address the issue of forced labour.
“In the meantime, we will continue to value our strategic relationship with the U.S. especially in ensuring that our trade remains intact, resilient, and stable. This is especially true since Philippine exports to the United States, particularly in electronics, semiconductors, and key agricultural products, support U.S. supply‑chain stability.”
(Reporting by Reuters; Compiled by Lincoln Feast; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
