Trump’s reciprocal tariffs to hit China, Vietnam hardest

ISTANBUL

US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, announced on Wednesday, will impact eight of the US’ 10 top trading partners, with China and Vietnam facing the heaviest effects.

Trump’s varying tariffs include the US’ top 10 highest-imported suppliers, which are Mexico, China, Canada, Germany, Japan, Vietnam, South Korea, Taiwan, Ireland, and India, according to data from the International Trade Center.

While no new tariffs were imposed on Mexico and Canada, Vietnam emerged as one of the most affected nations among the US’ top 10 trading partners, with 46% reciprocal tariffs.

Vietnam’s trade volume with the US reached $142.5 billion in 2024, and the US accounts for 27% of the country’s total exports.

China, which had a trade volume of $462.5 billion with the United States last year, faced 34% reciprocal tariffs.

Both China and Vietnam are key manufacturing hubs in Asia. Following these tariff decisions, markets will closely watch upcoming manufacturing activity and growth data from the two countries.

While the EU faced 20% reciprocal tariffs, top trading partners Germany and Ireland were also subjected to tariffs.

Germany ranked fourth and Ireland ninth among the US’ top 10 import sources, with trade volumes of $163.5 billion and $103.8 billion, respectively. Germany accounted for 5.87% of total US imports, while Ireland made up 3.09% last year.

The potential impact of these reciprocal tariffs on European manufacturing activities has raised concerns, particularly given the EU's recession risks. Economic officials are focusing on changes in US-EU trade volumes, as well as potential EU retaliation.

Japan, the fifth largest producer the US imports from as per 2024 data, was also hit with Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, facing a 24% rate. The Nikkei 225 index closed March with a 4.14% decline, and the decision led to a 2.7% loss in Japanese indices, the steepest decrease in Asia.

South Korea, India, and Taiwan were subjected to 25%, 26%, and 32% reciprocal tariffs, respectively. US semiconductor makers, including Nvidia, AMD, Broadcom, and Arm Holdings, experienced significant losses after tariffs were imposed on Taiwan, the world’s chipmaking hub.

Nvidia shares fell 7.8%, AMD dropped 8.9%, Broadcom fell 10.5%, and Arm Holdings saw a 9.64% decline following the announcement of tariffs on Taiwan.