Trump tariffs: five scenarios for the world's economy

A US recession? A trade war with China? How 'Liberation Day' could realign the globe

Illustration of a claw machine full of shipping containers
'There is no winner in a trade war': Chinese officials react to Trump's tariffs
(Image credit: Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Shutterstock)

Last night, Donald Trump fired the first big shots in a global trade war, announcing sweeping tariffs on friend and foe alike.

The US president ordered a 10% "baseline tariff" on all imports to America, and higher "reciprocal tariffs" on goods from about 60 countries or trading blocs that have a high trade deficit with the US. Dubbing yesterday "Liberation Day", he said it was "our declaration of economic independence".

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Harriet Marsden is a writer for The Week, mostly covering UK and global news and politics. Before joining the site, she was a freelance journalist for seven years, specialising in social affairs, gender equality and culture. She worked for The Guardian, The Times and The Independent, and regularly contributed articles to The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, The New Statesman, Tortoise Media and Metro, as well as appearing on BBC Radio London, Times Radio and “Woman’s Hour”. She has a master’s in international journalism from City University, London, and was awarded the "journalist-at-large" fellowship by the Local Trust charity in 2021.