Protectionist US policies, retaliatory measures to take first toll on American consumers

DHAKA - Protectionist US policies and retaliatory measures from affected countries will strike a big blow to the consumers worldwide especially in the United States of America, experts said here Monday.

They said the United States will not gain anything by imposing tariffs on steel and aluminium, and a looming trade war between the United States and China as well as other affected big nations will bring disaster to the global economy.

"US will face resistance from European allies and also from its citizens and Trump can not continue the trade war for a long time," a leading Bangladeshi legal economist MS Siddiqui said.

MS Siddiqui, a professor at Dhaka's Daffodil International University, said a wide swath of the farm economy could be impacted if China goes ahead with tariffs on soybeans and other lucrative crops.

He said China buys roughly half of the US soybean exports, or about $14 billion annually, and is the second-largest buyer of American cotton.

"China's list of US goods facing tariffs also includes cotton, corn, wheat and beef."

Siddiqui said the US tax on steel shall have an impact on US buyers and there will be hardly any creation of new jobs. Furthermore, the car export to China will reduce.

"China targeted agricultural products and US sanctions will increase the price of US-origin cars and those will be less competitive than Chinese-made cars."

"Despite US tariff measures, I think China should continue to pursue its open trade initiatives which will make China the leader of a more open global trading system," Muhammad Mahmood, former head of the School of Economics and Finance of Victoria University, told Xinhua.

At the moment clothing is not a target of Trump's tariffs, so nothing much should happen to poor countries like Bangladesh, he added.

"But if his tariffs and counter measures by Europe and China lead to global recession, definitely Bangladesh will feel the pinch."