(13 August 2025 – Global) US President Trump’s stringent new tariff settings for over 90 countries have now gone into effect, leading to hard-hit economies scrambling to contain the fallout and persuade the administration to scale back aggressive trade policy against fellow allies.
The president’s levies took effect after midnight and are anticipated to ratchet prices higher for American consumers and create enormous uncertainty for businesses globally in terms of what comes next. Even before the new tariffs took effect, a growing number of firms warned they may no longer be able to “eat” the rising costs of imported components and supplies.
“The tariffs threaten to create an environment that is very stagflation-esque with a rising risk of a stagnant economy with inflationary prices. That will add to the challenge facing the Federal Reserve at a time when Mr. Trump is demanding lower interest rates. Growth is slowing. It’s happening, and it’s going to become much more obvious” commented Moody’s Analytics Chief Economist, Mark Zandi.
“Businesses have worked their way through inventories since the president announced then quickly suspended his original slate of steep tariffs in April. With tariffs climbing again, so will prices. That is something that’s going to accelerate over the next couple months” stated Oxford Economics Senior Economist, Matthew Martin.
As US President Donald Trump ratchets up his rhetoric against trading partners in Europe, corporates across the continent but especially in Asia are taking notice, Bloomberg reports. Some companies have begun to diversify their banking relationships away from the giants of Wall Street according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s been a boon for Europe’s leading banks, which have been actively vying to win the extra business.