Supply Lines
Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum took effect drew muted responses from most economies he targeted and muted response from markets
View in browser
Bloomberg

Supply Lines is now exclusively for Bloomberg.com subscribers. As a loyal reader, we’ll keep sending it to you for a limited time. If you’d like to continue receiving Supply Lines, and gain unlimited digital access to all of Bloomberg.com, we invite you to subscribe now at the special rate of $129 for your first year (usually $299).

Beg, Borrow and Steel

President Donald Trump went ahead with 25% tariffs on global steel and aluminum imports, reviving one of his first-term strategies aimed at repatriating factory jobs and widening his trade wars to most of the world’s major economies.

Beaten down in the days leading up to his well-telegraphed deadline on Wednesday, financial markets took things in stride on implementation day: Stocks edged up in Asia, along with futures for European and US markets.

Trump downplayed the earlier equities selloff, saying he doesn’t foresee a US recession and that the country is going to “boom” this year thanks to his tariff policies.

Read More: From Baseball Bats to Caskets, Trump Tariffs Set to Hit Home

Perhaps the market’s muted response stems from the measured responses from most major exporters hit by Trump’s latest volley of import taxes. Most declined to immediately return fire. The European Union announced countermeasures, but left time to negotiate before its retaliatory tariffs kick in.

Here’s a quick spin around the world of trade in the past 12 hours showing where things stand heading into the US morning:

  • World leaders from New Delhi to Brussels are watching Canada as an example of what happens when you hit back hard at Trump’s strong-arm tactics.
  • The EU announced a plan to impose its own duties on €26 billion worth of American goods.
  • China declined to comment but looked to be taking an asymmetric approach: summoning Walmart executives to express its concern after the US retailer reportedly urged its mainland suppliers to absorb increased American trade tariffs.
  • Other major exporters of the metals including Japan, South Korea, Australia and the UK refrained from quick retaliation.
  • The global steel market is barreling toward a war on multiple fronts as politicians pursue measures to stem imports of the metal that’s served as the cornerstone of industrialization.
  • Norway is working to persuade the EU to exempt it from any broad protective tariff set by the 27-nation bloc in response to Trump’s trade wars. 
  • Here’s a cool riff on Electro-Harmonix, a US company that makes guitar effects pedals. It’s struggling to absorb the cost of tariffs on imported components from China, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia.

Brendan Murray in London

Click here for more of Bloomberg.com’s most-read stories about trade, supply chains and shipping.

Like Supply Lines?

Don’t keep it to yourself. Colleagues and friends can sign up here. We also publish Economics Daily, a briefing on the latest in global economics.

For even more: Follow @economics on Twitter and subscribe to Bloomberg.com for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and gain expert analysis from exclusive subscriber-only newsletters.

How are we doing? We want to hear what you think about this newsletter. Let our trade tsar know.

Follow Us

Like getting this newsletter? Subscribe to Bloomberg.com for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights.

Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. Learn more.

Want to sponsor this newsletter? Get in touch here.

You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Supply Lines newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, sign up here to get it in your inbox.
Unsubscribe
Bloomberg.com
Contact Us
Bloomberg L.P.
731 Lexington Avenue,
New York, NY 10022
Ads Powered By Liveintent Ad Choices