Great depression warning issued to world by ICC amid tariff war risks; Internet fumes at ‘bunch of billionaires’
Trump triggered a fresh trade disputes with the top three US trading partners when he imposed fresh 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico.
If United States Donald Trump doesn't back down from its plans to impose high import tariffs, the global economy might collapse like the Great Depression of the 1930s, warned a senior official at the International Chamber of Commerce.
Andrew Wilson, deputy secretary-general of the ICC, which supports international commerce and trade, expressed his great concern that this may be the beginning of a downward cycle that would “put us in the trade war era of the 1930s,” the WSJ reported.
A catastrophic worldwide recession during that decade was exacerbated by high taxes on foreign goods imported into the United States. The International Monetary Fund (IMF)found that the slump cut production in powerful industrial economies like the US and Germany by 50 percent and drove almost a third of the world's workers into unemployment.
Great depression trends as Trump triggers trade war with tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico
Trump triggered a fresh trade disputes with the top three U.S. trading partners when he announced doubled penalties on Chinese goods to 20% and imposed fresh 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico.
The the tariff steps went into effect after Trump stated that all three nations failed to do enough to stop the flow of the deadly fentanyl drug and its precursor chemicals into the United States. The tariffs has the potential to disrupt almost $2.2 trillion in two-way yearly US trade.
Trump's announcement prompts recession fears
The impact of the duties on Canadian and Mexican goods may be far more profound for the closely interconnected North American economy, which relies on cross-border exports to process agricultural products, refine petroleum, and make automobiles and machinery.
“Today's reckless decision by the U.S. administration is forcing Canada and the U.S. toward recessions, job losses and economic disaster,” said Candace Laing, CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, in a statement.
According to her, supply networks would be disrupted and consumer and producer expenses will increase as a result of the US tariffs. “Tariffs are a tax on the American people.”
US data released on Monday revealed that factory gate costs had already surged to a nearly three-year high before to the President's announcement of tariffs, indicating that a fresh round of tariffs may soon hinder production.
After Trump confirmed that the tariffs would go ahead, safe-haven bonds soared and global stocks collapsed, sending financial markets into a tailspin. Both Mexican peso and the Canadian dollar declined against US dollar.
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Great Depression starts trending on X as netizens react
Amidst all these worries and warnings from the experts, great depression phrase started trending on X, with one Trump critic, saying: “We're heading for a Great Depression at the rate this Orange Scumbag is slashing, and burning our economy. #TrumpIsUnfitForOffice.”
““Have fun” with your new Great Depression,” another wrote.
“The last time America increased tariffs like this, it was 1930 — and it triggered the Great Depression,” a third user reacted.
“There are bunch of billionaires sitting around in the White House attempting to engineer the next Great Depression, and they might actually get it because everyone is so f*****g stupid,” one more commented.
