Tariff war between USA and Mexico: Trump's policies are making waves!

US politics under President Donald Trump is taking on new features as a significant meeting between Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Trump took place in Washington on April 18, 2025. The focus of the conversation was the USA's customs policies. Apple CEO Tim Cook was also in attendance and discussed the potential impact of new tariffs on iPhone prices with Trade Secretary Howard Lutnick. What is interesting is that Trump decided to exempt Apple's electronic products from China from tariffs, despite the opposition of his advisor Peter Navarro. This announcement caused Apple shares to rise by around 7 percent.

Trump expressed optimism about a “100 percent” agreement in the tariff dispute with the European Union and accepted Meloni’s invitation to talks in Italy. However, US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned of the possible consequences of Trump's tariff policy, which could result in higher inflation and slower economic growth. An analysis by the German Economic Institute estimates the costs of the tariff war for Germany to be up to 290 billion euros by 2028. In a notable move, California has filed a lawsuit against Trump's tariffs, claiming they are exceeding his constitutional authority. A WTO analysis shows that US tariffs will have the biggest impact on the US and Canada, while GDP growth could also decline.

Influence of Trump's economic policies

As reported in an analysis by wirtschaft-ratgeber.de, Donald Trump significantly influenced US economic policy and the global economic order during his presidency. Its orientation was strongly influenced by the motto “America First”, which led to a new dynamic in international trade relations. Trump's protectionist measures included, among other things, the introduction of punitive tariffs on products from countries such as China and Mexico. These tariffs were used to advance national interests and strengthen the U.S. economy.

The trade conflicts that emerged under Trump's direction led to tensions with important trading partners and resulted in a spiral of retaliation. The economies of Mexico and Canada were hit particularly hard because they have close ties to the United States. It is also estimated that Trump's measures will have an indirect impact on Germany by affecting the competitiveness of German exporters. According to estimates, the German economy could suffer losses of around 25 billion euros by 2026, which is also due to general uncertainty in trade relations. Intrinsically, Trump's policy contradicts traditional American trade policy, which has always been aimed at multilateralism.