SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean trade officials were busy Saturday assessing the impact of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling invalidating some of the Trump administration’s tariffs, as businesses and governments around the world closely watched the possible impact of Washington’s move on the global economy.
The trade ministry’s announcement of an emergency meeting in Seoul came as South Korean officials acknowledged that tariffs would remain on some specific exports that are not affected by the U.S. high court ruling, such as cars and steel.
It marks another downturn in U.S. tariff attitudes since President Donald Trump returned to office 13 months ago, upending dozens of U.S. trade relationships with the world’s largest economy.
In Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron praised American checks and balances and praised the “rule of law” during a visit to the Paris Agricultural Products Fair: “It is a good thing for democracies to have powers and counter-powers. We should welcome this.” “
But he warned against any triumphalism.
Officials are reviewing the wording of bilateral or multilateral deals struck with the United States in recent months, even as they brace for new volatility. Trump said on Friday he planned to impose new 10% global tariffs under different rules.
“I note that President Trump said a few hours ago that he has modified some measures to introduce new tariffs that are more restrictive but apply to everyone,” Macron said. “So we will look carefully at the exact consequences, what can be done, and then we will adapt.”
Sergio Bermúdez, head of an industrial park company in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico (on the Texas border), said of the new 10% tariff threat that Trump “is saying a lot of things, but a lot of them are not true. All the businesses I know are analyzing, trying to figure out how this will affect them.”
The impact is particularly evident in Juárez: Its economy relies heavily on factories producing goods for export to U.S. consumers, the result of decades of free trade between the U.S. and Mexico.
Lackluster U.S. policy last year made many global business leaders cautious as they struggled to predict and saw investments take a hit.
Mexico’s Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Friday that Mexico was watching tariffs “calmly” and noted that 85% of Mexico’s exports are exempt from tariffs, largely due to an agreement between the United States, Mexico and Canada. He plans to travel to the United States next week to meet with economic officials.
Alan Russell, chief executive of Tecma, a company that helps U.S. companies do business in Mexico, has found his job has become increasingly complex over the past year—the company’s workload has quadrupled in response to new import requirements. He fears the latest U.S. move will only make things more difficult.
“Every day we wake up to new challenges. The word ‘uncertainty’ has always been the biggest enemy,” said Russell, an American. “The hard part is not knowing what the rules are today or what the rules are tomorrow.
Some U.S. importers who paid excess tariffs are seeking possible refunds — which can be a very complicated process — while some foreign companies may also want to get their share.
Bernd Lange, chairman of the European Parliament’s trade committee, insisted to German radio that excess tariffs “must be returned.” He estimates that German companies or their U.S. importers alone have overpaid more than 100 billion euros ($118 billion).
Swissmem, Switzerland’s top technology industry association, praised the Supreme Court for a “good decision” and wrote on
“High tariffs have severely damaged the technology industry,” Swissmem President Martin Hirzel said on “However, today’s ruling has not won anything.”
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Janetsky reported from Mexico City. Associated Press writers Maria Verza and Fabiola Sanchez in Mexico City; Samuel Petrequin in London; and Jamey Keaten in Lyon, France, contributed to this report.