Five takeaways on Trump's opening trade salvo

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

55% : He has promised duties on EU products unless the bloc's members buy more American oil and gas.
55% : Just since December, the EU has clinched agreements with the Mercosur group of South American countries and Mexico while restarting talks with Malaysia after more than a decade.
49% : Trump mentioned tariffs just three times in his inaugural address, calming investors and trade partners who had been warned to expect "day one" levies.
49% : That indicates that something similar to the universal tariff promised by Trump on the campaign trail might still emerge.
45% : Trump has previously accused China of undervaluing the renminbi to boost the value of its exports.
41% : "Trump has linked tariffs to other policy goals, beyond reducing trade deficits.
37% : Trump had no qualms in hitting US allies in his first term, invoking national security concerns to put tariffs on steel and aluminium imports.
33% : Anahita Thoms, head of international trade for law firm Baker McKenzie in Germany, said Trump was using tariff threats to maximise his leverage.
32% : Donald Trump imposed no new trade tariffs on the first day of his second term, as feared by markets, but the US president did lay out the official blueprint for an "America First Trade Policy".
32% : Trump on Monday also suggested that tariffs on China could hinge on a deal over TikTok's ownership.
29% : Trump appears to be prioritising actions on the US's nearest trading partners, saying he was preparing tariffs on Canada and Mexico to be applied as soon as February 1.
24% : Many supply chains for US manufacturers, particularly carmakers, rely on operations in all three countries and those businesses could put pressure on Trump to rescind his threats.
23% : Trump also sharpened his rhetoric and repeated threats to apply 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports, ripping up the countries' free trade pact.
19% : "Tariffs would be inflationary," said Thoms, adding Trump would not "want to do something that has a negative impact on inflation".US imports from countries such as Vietnam and Mexico picked up in Trump's first term.

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