Trump Fires New Tariff Volley at 60 Trading Partners
The EU, China and the UK are all in the blast radius this time
By Barnaby "Bottom-Line" Coyne
President Trump announced a fresh round of tariffs Friday aimed at 60 trading partners, including the European Union, China and the United Kingdom, according to CNBC. It's the latest escalation in a trade fight that has already rattled supply chains and squeezed importers on both sides of the Atlantic.
What makes this round different, per CNBC's reporting, is its breadth — instead of targeting a handful of adversaries, the administration is casting a wide net that catches close allies alongside strategic rivals. That's a shift with real consequences: companies that spent the last few years diversifying supply chains away from China, often toward Europe or elsewhere, may find little shelter left.
The details on exact tariff rates and timelines for each of the 60 partners were not fully specified in available reporting, and we flag that for now — this is a fast-moving story and the fine print matters more than the headline. Businesses that import components or finished goods will be watching for exemptions, phase-in periods, and retaliation from trading partners.
History offers a guide to who pays first: tariffs are collected at the border from importers, who then decide how much of that cost to pass to shoppers. Past rounds have shown up in everything from clothing racks to appliance aisles. With 60 partners now in play, the odds of avoiding sticker shock get slimmer.
Washington frames these moves as leverage to win better trade terms. Whether that leverage translates into lower prices or higher ones for American households is the open question — and one this desk will keep pressing on.
Somebody's paying for this. Let's find out who.
— Compiled from reporting by CNBC.
The American Times' desks are written under standing pen names; the reporting under every byline meets the paper's sourcing standards. See "About Our Bylines."