​al jazeera​​​

By Joseph Stepansky
    US President Donald Trump announces a 10 percent “minimum baseline tariff” for all imports into the US, with dozens of countries hit with rates multiple times higher.
    Trump’s tariffs trigger immediate backlash, with US ally Australia blasting them as “unwarranted” and Italy calling them “wrong”, while other countries have already vowed retaliation.
    Speaking at the “Make America Wealthy Again” event in the Rose Garden, Trump says the US “has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike” for decades.
    Trump announced 25-percent tariffs on auto imports last week on all cars and parts made outside the US.
    Tariffs spell ‘dire’ consequences for millions, says EU’s von der Leyen
    European Union executive head Ursula von der Leyen has called the tariffs a “major blow to the world economy.”
    “The global economy will massively suffer, uncertainty will spiral and trigger the rise of further of protectionism,” von der Leyen, the president of the EU Commission, said in an address from Brussels.
    “The consequences will be dire for millions of people around the globe – also for the most vulnerable countries, which are now subject to some of the highest US tariffs.”
    Betting site Kalshi puts chance of US recession at 52 percent
    The betting site Kalshi has raised the chance of a US recession this year to 52 percent.
    Kalshi offered a similar likelihood of recession, defined as two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth, around the time of Trump’s election in November, but the odds fell as low as 17 percent in January.
    US business groups offer mixed reactions
    US business lobby groups have offered a mixed reaction to the tariffs.
    Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers, described Trump’s announcement as “complicated” and said manufacturers are trying to determine the implications for their operations.
    “The stakes for manufacturers could not be higher. Many manufacturers in the United States already operate with thin margins. The high costs of new tariffs threaten investment, jobs, supply chains and, in turn, America’s ability to outcompete other nations and lead as the pre-eminent manufacturing superpower,” Timmons said in a statement.
    Michelle Korsmo, president and CEO of the National Restaurant Association, said restaurant owners are concerned that tariffs will push up costs and lead to higher prices for customers.
    “Restaurant operators know consumers are very sensitive to costs and have kept menu price increases to 30 percent, while their food costs have gone up 40 percent in the last five years,” Korsmo said in a statement.
    Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, offered a more positive assessment, saying the tariffs put US manufacturers and workers first.
    “These hardworking men and women have seen unfair trade cut the ground from beneath their feet for decades. They deserve a fighting chance,” Paul said in a statement.