Russia, North Korea and Greenland are also not included, while the rest will be charged between 10% and 54%, although Mexico and Canada will have special treatment.
14ymedio, Havana, 3 April 2025 — “This time Cuba is not on the list of countries penalized by the United States. It is perhaps the only punitive list of the imperial government which doesn’t include Cuba. Is this a miracle?” Cubadebate wonders this Thursday, in a celebratory tone, in the face of the news that the Island – along with Russia, Belarus and North Korea – will not be affected by the imposition of Donald Trump’s tariffs on almost all countries of the globe.
At the moment, no senior Cuban official – including Miguel Díaz-Canel and Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez – has reacted to the news.
According to a senior White House official interviewed anonymously by The New York Times, the regimes excluded by Trump already have “extremely high tariffs,” which are a death blow for any “significant” commercial possibility.
This Wednesday, Trump held up a poster with a list of countries and announced global tariffs of 10% to 49%, as reciprocity for countries that, he considers, pose a trade obstacle for American products.
The highest tariffs are for Vietnam and China – the economic enemy par excellence of the United States – with 46% and 34%, respectively, followed by India, with 26%, and the European Union, with 20%. Vietnam, where Chinese factories moved to avoid U.S. tariffs, was only surpassed in the region by Cambodia (49%) and Laos (48%). The three are key partners of China.
Washington’s allies are not spared either, since Taiwan is punished with 32%, South Korea with 25%, Japan with 24% and Israel with 17%. The Taiwanese Government described the new tariffs on Thursday as “deeply irrational” and stated that it will present a formal protest to Washington.
On the other hand, Latin Americans are saved with 10%, except Venezuela (15%) and Nicaragua (18%). This Saturday the base tariff of 10% will come into force, and, on April 9, the additional tariffs by country.
According to Trump, these restrictions will pressure companies to move their factories to the United States
According to Trump, these restrictions will pressure companies to move their factories to the United States and will generate jobs. For the experts and the affected governments, however, the news could not be more catastrophic, and they foresee a significant disruption in the world economy.
Reactions across the planet have been virtually unanimous. China declared its “firm opposition” to Trump and promised reprisals. “The encumbrances ignore the rules of international trade and seriously undermine the rights and legitimate interests of the parties involved,” said a trade official. The country already had tariffs of 20%, so that imports from China will total 54% from this month.
Beijing declared that the White House violates the “balance of interests” in which both countries have been working for decades and described the measure as “intimidation.” At the beginning of March, China responded to the United States with reciprocal tariffs on its agricultural products.
Japan reacted similarly, and its Minister of Economy warned that the interest of Japanese investors in the US will fall after Trump’s announcement. Yoji Muto stated that the North American country will be the first loser in this scenario, since Tokyo is one of its main business partners and thousands of Americans are employees of Japanese companies, especially in the manufacturing sector.
Europe claims to have prepared a “solid plan of firm countermeasures.” The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stressed that the bloc is interested in a “negotiated solution,” but said that Washington had left no other option to the European Union. “Today, no one needs this: neither the United States nor Europe,” she said.
“Tariffs are taxes that will be paid by the people. Food and medications will be more expensive for Americans. Tariffs will only boost inflation. Exactly the opposite of what we want to achieve. American factories will pay more for components produced in Europe. This will cost jobs,” she added.
Central America, a region that exports bananas, coffee, tobacco, textiles and other goods to the United States, will receive tariffs of 10%, except Nicaragua, which will have an 18% tariff. These governments have reacted cautiously and asked for “more information” before giving an opinion, although Guatemala considers the measure a violation of its rights.
The reactions in South America have varied in their criticism of Washington. Brazil – with exports to the US of 40 billion dollars in oil, planes and coffee – for example, has already approved a trade retaliation bill, while other governments “are studying” the impact that tariffs will have on their economy.
Gustavo Petro, president of Colombia, said that Trump had made “a big mistake for believing that raising tariffs on imports in general can increase U.S. production, wealth and employment.” As for Chile, its president, Gabriel Boric, celebrated the fact that its main exportable product – copper – is exempt from tariffs.
Venezuela has mocked the news, despite the fact that it will have tariffs of 15% imposed, the highest in the region after Nicaragua and Guyana
Venezuela has mocked the news, despite the fact that it will have tariffs of 15% imposed – the highest in the region after Nicaragua and Guyana (37%) – and the president of its Parliament, Diosdado Cabello, said that Trump intended to impose tariffs “even on Mars.”
In the US business sector itself, there are reactions of concern and uncertainty. The Business Round Table, which brings together executive directors of large companies, said that the measures will have a direct impact on factories and their employees. “The damage to the U.S. economy will increase the longer tariffs are maintained and could be exacerbated by retaliatory measures,” they added. They also foresee a significant increase in prices.
The two great absentees from Trump’s list – in addition to the authoritarian regimes – have been Mexico and Canada, neighbors of the United States with whom the Republican has maintained a commercial tension since the beginning of his mandate. Nor does Greenland appear, an autonomous territory that is part of Denmark and which Trump intends to annex to the United States.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she had met with her cabinet to reinforce the Mexico Plan, an initiative for the economic restructuring of the country. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the tariffs preserve “important elements” of the bilateral relationship. However, he promised to be on guard against tariffs on steel, aluminum and other metals.
One of the mining giants of that country, Sherritt International, has a close relationship with Cuba, where it exploits nickel and cobalt deposits.
Copper and gold, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, wooden articles, energy and minerals not available in the United States are excluded from the tariffs, along with other products subject to the trade treaty with Canada and Mexico. These exclusions are based on a section of U.S. federal law for cases of war and national defense, and the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which empowers federal departments and agencies to request the Department of Commerce to investigate the national security implications of certain imports.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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