ISTANBUL
Top financial officials from the G20 major economies expressed worries about the effects of US President Donald Trump’s high tariffs on the global economy at a meeting in South Africa, Japanese news agency Jiji Press reported Friday.
Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato told reporters on Thursday, day one of a two-day gathering of G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors, that he was worried about how the economy and financial markets will be affected by the uncertainty around US tariffs.
Additionally, Kato said tariffs are not a suitable means of resolving trade imbalances.
On the sidelines of the G-20 session, the finance ministers and central bank heads of the main industrialized countries of the G7 are expected to meet to discuss a range of issues, including aid for Ukraine.
Global trade and markets have been in great uncertainty since Trump unveiled his “reciprocal” tariffs back on April. He imposed blanket tariffs ranging between 10% to 50% on most countries, later suspending those tariffs for 90 days, except for China, on April 9.
With China, after a back-and-forth tariff standoff, Washington agreed to a trade deal after meeting in London last month as the two sides agreed to set back some punitive tariffs, as well as other restrictive measures.
Meanwhile, many countries have been trying to negotiate a better trade agreement which includes lower tariff rates than what was introduced in April by the US.
Other countries which the US announced a trade deal with are the UK, Vietnam, and Indonesia.
Additionally, the US president has sent letters to numerous countries informing them of the tariff rate they will be paying as of Aug. 1.
Those included the EU countries, and Mexico with a 30% tariff rate, Canada with 35%, and Japan with 25%
Trump also introduced new sectoral tariffs, which included a 25% tariff rate for all automotive imports in April.
He also announced 50% levies on copper imports starting on Aug. 1 and a 200% rate on pharmaceutical products coming into the US.