Sweeping Trump tariffs draw global dismay

'Nobody wins in a trade war, that is not in our national interest,' UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer has said

- ASSOCIATED PRESS

Sweeping new tariffs announced by American President Donald Trump provoked dismay, threats of countermeasures and urgent calls for talks to find ways to rescind the stiff new import taxes imposed on goods from countries around the globe. But responses Thursday were measured, highlighting a lack of appetite for an outright trade war with the world's biggest economy.

Trump said Wednesday the import taxes, ranging from 10 per cent to 49 per cent, would do to American trading partners what they have long done to the USA. He maintains they will draw factories and jobs back to the United States.

"Taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years," he said. "But it is not going to happen anymore."

Trump's announcement of a new 20 per cent tariff on the European Union drew a sharp rebuke from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who said it was a "major blow to the world economy."

"The consequences will be dire for millions of people around the globe," von der Leyen said.

Groceries, transport and medicines will cost more, she said while visiting Uzbekistan. "And this is hurting, in particular, the most vulnerable citizens."