Donald Trump announced new tariffs for exports to the US. Those with high tariffs on imports of American goods are the most affected. How the new trade war will affect Serbia
American president Donald tramp he once again shook the world with one decision.
On Wednesday (April 3) evening, he announced that in the future, all imports into United States (USA) to be valid customs duties of 10 percent or more. For many countries it is significantly more.
Among them are some Balkan countries, led by Serbia. In the future, customs duties of 37 percent will apply to the import and export of Serbian goods in the USA.
Followed by Bosnia and Herzegovina with customs duties of 35 percent, then North Macedonia with 33 percent.
Croatia fared a bit better with 20 percent customs duties, while for the import of goods from Montenegro, Albania and Kosovo to the USA, levies of only 10 percent will apply in the future.
Reciprocal measures
Announcing the decision, Trump clarified that these are reciprocal tariffs - so those for countries that have high rates of tariffs on goods imported from the US have been significantly increased.
Serbia, for example, charges a customs duty of 74 percent on imported American goods.
Based on the data published by the White House, it can be seen that to countries that have high tariffs on American products, 20 percent or more, Trump introduced tariffs in the amount of half of what applies to American companies.
On the other hand, to countries and territories that imposed customs duties on products from the US at 10 percent, Trump introduced tariffs at the same percentage.
The highest introduced customs duties amount to 49 percent.
LIBERATION DAY RECIPROCAL TARIFFS 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/ODckbUWKvO
- The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 2, 2025
Trump's "Declaration of Independence"
"This is our declaration of independence," Trump said announcing the new measures.
"We are finally putting America first," he said.
Because trade deficits are no longer just an economic problem, it is, as he said, "a national emergency".
"In many cases, friend is worse than foe when it comes to trade," Trump said.
"We subsidize many countries and maintain them," he lashed out at Mexico and Canada in particular.
Response of affected countries
The sweeping tariffs will raise new barriers in the world's largest economy, reversing decades of trade liberalization that have shaped the global order.
Other countries are expected to respond with countermeasures that could lead to dramatically higher prices.
Reactions came quickly from numerous countries around the world.
Economist Ljubomir Madžar explains for "Vreme" that this is a bad measure that will affect the efficiency of the world economy as a whole.
"It is a situation in which everyone loses for a longer period of time, and in the short term it may happen that someone catches something, but later it is paid dearly in terms of efficiency losses, because customs duties are a great enemy of economic efficiency," says Magjar.
The Trump administration's decision was inspired, among other things, by the fact that in other parts of the world production is much cheaper than in America, "because American wages are very high and of course it pays to move the company to China where there is still a lot of cheap, good and disciplined labor."
Trump's "crazy" tariffs will indirectly affect Serbia as well
"As far as the effects on Serbia are concerned, the first and most certain thing that can be said is that those effects will not be favorable. On the other hand, we do not have any excessively developed economic ties with America. It is not even among the top five foreign trade partners according to the volume of foreign trade exchange. Some direct effect cannot be large, but the indirect effects will be quite large because the whole world will have a harder time doing business and become less efficient than it would be if it were not for those crazy Trump tariffs," says Madjar.
Commenting on the high tariffs that Serbia has on the goods it imports from the USA, Magjar says that it is accepted in world circles that underdeveloped countries can introduce higher tariffs.
"Firstly, they do not participate much in world trade flows, so it does not have much of an impact on the whole, and secondly, it is good for them because they are very inefficient. With low efficiency, they cannot break into the world market, and this tolerance of an asymmetric system of taxation, i.e. customs clearance, slightly eases the position of underdeveloped countries and opens the door to the world market. It is a way to facilitate access to the world market for underdeveloped countries," explains Magjar.
Who in Serbia will feel the consequences the most?
As "Forbes Serbia" writes, due to the introduced tariffs, the export of the automotive industry (mainly automotive tires) could suffer, as well as the dedicated industry (mainly ammunition). Although not such a large export product, food products could also be affected by tariffs.
IT services are also exported to the USA on a larger scale from Serbia, but they should not be threatened by customs duties.
On the other hand, although some important export products, such as metals, we do not export a lot to the USA compared to Europe and other markets, they could be indirectly affected, writes "Forbes", because other countries will also be affected by tariffs, so they could now give priority in supply to domestic producers who would reduce their placement on the American market, which reduces the space for our exporters.
This means that there will certainly be an effect on Serbia even though the USA is not our major export market. But they are not to be ignored.
Increase in Serbian exports to the US
The data of the Republic Institute of Statistics show that in the last two years, the trade between the two countries has balanced out. Serbia's exports grew significantly better than imports from the USA.
In 2024, Serbia exported goods worth about 671 million dollars to the USA, so America is in 19th place in Serbia's foreign trade statistics, with a total share of 2,1 percent of exports.
Economist Miroslav Zdravković in the author's text on the website Makroekonomika points out exactly this information.
"The share of the US in Serbia's registered exports was 2,16 percent, so the consequences of the introduction of tariffs on the overall economy of our country are microscopic and negligible. Like tires for cars, it is certain that several dozen producers in Serbia will suffer a serious blow. Whether they will reduce exports to the US, find new markets, lower the prices they report to the US customs authorities is a matter of their business policy," says Zdravković.
Even without new US tariffs, US imports from Serbia in January 2025 decreased by 2,2 percent, from 71,9 to 70,3 million dollars, he adds.
New trade war
Many statesmen around the world condemned Trump's decision, evaluating it as a big blow to the world economy.
The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, also expressed such an assessment, as well as China, which has already announced that it will take "decisive countermeasures" against the USA.
The new US tariffs will introduce a "spiral of uncertainty", which will cause "terrible" consequences "for millions of people around the world", Von der Leyen said, highlighting the devastating impact on the most vulnerable countries, noting that some of them are now subject to some of the highest US tariffs.
She said that Europe will take a unified approach and announced that the EU is preparing countermeasures in case the negotiations fail.
"If you fight against one of us, you will fight against all of us," she said.
The universal tariffs announced by the US are a major blow to businesses and consumers worldwide.
Europe is prepared to respond.
We'll always protect our interests and values.
We're also ready to engage.And to go from confrontation to negotiation ↓ https://t.co/WbXqsN4ZX7
- Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) April 3, 2025
Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni, otherwise a Trump ally, said that the decision was "wrong", but that she would work on an agreement with the US in order to "prevent a trade war".
Her Spanish counterpart Pedro Sánchez said that Spain "will continue to be committed to an open world", while Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin stressed that Trump's decision was "deeply regrettable" and "doesn't benefit anyone".
Japan has called on Washington to withdraw the tariff measures.
Consumers will pay the price.
Alan Deardorff, a professor of international economics at the University of Michigan, warned that consumers will pay more for a wide range of products - from electronics to food items - due to higher import costs. He also warned of possible countermeasures by the countries affected by the tariffs.
Trump said his measures were "revenge for unfair trade policies" towards the US and added that he was "very soft" in these decisions.
Magjar explains that it is difficult to predict whether this is the beginning of a new trade war.
"The big question is how long Trump will persevere in his egocentric policy. I believe that the bad effects of those measures that have disrupted foreign trade flows at the world level will start to hit him too, and that some correction will occur. I don't believe that he will persevere for a long time in this fight for some more imaginary, than real interests of America itself," says the "Vremena" interviewee.
The consequences of the new tariffs could be reflected in lower imports of goods into the US.
"America will import less, the rest of the world will be faced with a decrease in global demand. And America will suffer the consequences of a decrease in demand due to a decrease in production in the rest of the world and a decrease in the production of those products that use American ingredients in particular. There will be several rounds of adverse effects, but I do not believe that this policy will last, because ultimately it is not good for America itself, although in the short term it may bring some effects that would not exist without such a policy," says Magjar.
According to him, significant consequences could be felt in the long term:
"Trump has a limited mandate and part of those adverse effects will fall on those who come after him, on future presidents and administrations. There is a systemic irrationality, that Trump can quickly catch something for himself, while others pay the cost of that effect."
Students are collecting funds for extraordinary elections with the "Buna Park" action, and citizens are protesting in front of the REC building. During that time, Chetnik songs are played from Pionirski Park
Students in the blockade of the ETF will distribute a pamphlet at public gatherings in Serbia for all "those who listen but don't see, look but don't hear", at the same time calling for a protest on June 28
In Belgrade, the first protest began in front of the Faculty of Law, and the second was announced for 18.30:XNUMX p.m. in front of the RIK building because "The circus must stop", at the same time as "Preparation for Vidovdan" in Sremski Karlovci.
According to the recipe before every big protest organized by students, the regime media and their guests before Vidovdan launched a new campaign of intimidation of citizens
The President of Serbia is proposing amendments to the Constitution that would protect citizens from forced eviction from their own homes during enforcement proceedings
Can the students and the opposition make up for 51 votes in the repeated elections at polling station number 25 in Kosjerić? Is it an impossible mission or another attempt that changes everything
The Serbian Government elected the commander of the "White Eagles", Dragoslav Bokan, as the president of the Board of Directors of the National Theater. Why not read "Aco Serbs" instead of "Your hands are bloody"?
What will Vučić do when his second presidential term expires in 2027. The Constitution does not provide for a third. Maybe he won't go into political retirement
The archive of the weekly Vreme includes all our digital editions, since the very beginning of our work. All issues can be downloaded in PDF format, by purchasing the digital edition, or you can read all available texts from the selected issue.
See all
