Latest Tariff Blitz Kickstarts Global Scramble for Trade Deals with US

More than 60 countries around the world are scrambling to respond to the latest wave of US tariffs announced by Donald Trump that came into force yesterday.

- Lisa O'Carroll

Industry representatives in rich and poor countries warned of job losses as the tariffs upended a decades-old world trading system with rates ranging from 10% to 39%, 40% and 41% for Switzerland, Brazil and Syria respectively.

All over the globe, leaders were attempting to put contingencies in place after Trump's tariff threats turned to reality at a minute past midnight Washington time.

The Brazilian government said it was planning state aid for companies affected. The president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, criticised the duties as "unacceptable blackmail".

Switzerland said it was seeking new talks with the US after a last-gasp mission to Washington by its president, Karin Keller-Sutter, failed to stop a 39% tariff blow that the industry group Swissmem described as a "horror scenario".

In a statement after an emergency meeting with Keller-Sutter, the Swiss cabinet said the tariffs would "place a substantial strain on Switzerland's export-oriented economy".

"For the affected sectors, companies and their employees, this is an extraordinarily difficult situation," Keller-Sutter told reporters.