Trump Reciprocal Tariffs: Global Trade Tensions Rise As China, EU Vow Retaliation; Japan, India Cautious

China: Firmly opposes US tariffs and will take resolute countermeasures.

European Union: First package of countermeasures soon, further retaliation if negotiations fail.

Canada: Will fight US tariffs, discussing response with provincial leaders.

Japan: Willing to negotiate trade solutions, disappointed with tariffs.

Australia: Totally unwarranted US policy, but no retaliation now.

Taiwan: Highly unreasonable, will make serious representations to the US.

South Korea: Mulling options to stabilise financial markets, minimise damage.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressed significant concerns over the US tariff measures, stating that Japanese firms have played a substantial role in the US economy. Calling the moving to levy a move24% reciprocal tariff on Japanese exports to the US "very disappointing", he said US policies will have a profound impact on global trade.

Ishiba emphasised his willingness to engage in direct discussions with former US President Trump if necessary, highlighting his commitment to addressing trade issues.

The impact of these tariffs in terms of export losses to the US is estimated at $30-35 billion for India, according to Dhiraj Nim, economist at ANZ. In terms of GDP growth, the impact is currently estimated at 0.7-0.8% of GDP, he said.

Madhavi Arora, lead economist at Emkay, said that previous static analysis suggests that India’s exports to the US could drop by $30-33 billion or about 0.8-0.9% of GDP at 26% tariffs, not adjusting for cross country hits.

The United States is India's top export destination and single-handedly made up for 18.6% of India's merchandise exports in FY25.

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The NSE Nifty Pharma index rose on Thursday to hit over one-month high, driven by relief across the sector as it was excluded from US President Donald Trump's new tariffs. Meanwhile, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd., and Cipla Ltd. were the top gainers in Nifty 50.

Going against the market decline, pharma benchmark was trading 4.54% higher, as of 9:17 a.m., the highest levels since Feb. 10.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday imposed a series of extensive tariffs on India and several countries, noting that unfair trade policies have significantly hurt the US economy.

Britain and Ukraine have been hit with a baseline tariff of 10%, while European Union partner nations face a reciprocal tariff rate of 20%. Notably, Russia and Israel were excluded from Trump's tariff list.

Check Full List Of Countries And Imposed Tariffs.