Brazil, Egypt, and Singapore survive tariff onslaught, US starts to look like an emerging market

Trump is building a whole new structure and destroying other nations. With 20% or more tariffs, the EU, Japan, and South Korea are some of the US’s closest trading partners and longtime friends that are being hit the hardest. However, some nations like Brazil, Egypt, and Singapore are in a better place.

The new taxes from the United States will go into effect on April 9. Brazil is one of the countries that got away with the least damage. Only a 10% “reciprocal” tariff. In Trump’s new world order, this is more like a slap on the hand.

Now, Brazil could take advantage of China’s retaliatory tariffs, which will likely hurt US farm exports. These could help the agricultural giant.

In addition, Egypt and Singapore are also in a better place with 10% baseline tariffs. However, although Trump wants fairness, Singapore imposes zero tariffs on US imports. This doesn’t seem fair.

The head of Euronext, Stephane Boujnah, said that the US is becoming more like an emerging market than a developed country. 

He said, “The country is unrecognizable, and we are living in a transition period. There is a certain form of mourning because the United States that we had known for the most part as a dominant nation, resembled the values and institutions of Europe, and now resembles more an emerging market.”

Countries that will benefit from others due to tariffs

Several nations have identified ways to benefit from others who have been hit hard by the tariffs. For instance, Brazil could benefit from Trump’s trade war.

Egypt and Singapore could also take advantage of the problems of countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam. This is because they have big surpluses and have been hit hard by Trump. This is because Bangladesh and Vietnam will have to deal with 37% and 46% tariffs, respectively. 

Earlier U.S. tariffs hurt Turkey’s exports of iron, steel, and aluminum. However,  they will now be helped as other traders worldwide have to deal with even higher taxes.

Magdy Tolba, head of the Egyptian-Turkish joint venture T&C Garments, said, “The US didn’t impose tariffs on Egypt alone […] It imposed much higher tariffs on other countries. This gives Egypt a very good opportunity to grow.” 

In the same way, Morocco, which has a free trade deal with the US, could benefit from the problems of both the EU and the countries that used to be the most powerful in Asia. A former government official said, “The tariff is an opportunity for Morocco to attract investments by foreign investors willing to export to the U.S., given the comparatively low 10% tariff.” 

In addition, the US has a trade imbalance with Kenya. A relatively small tariff hit may also have mixed effects on Kenya. Textile makers, in particular, hoped they could get an edge over rivals in countries where tariffs hurt them more.

On the other hand, although India is bleeding from tariffs, it still wants to take advantage of the situation. A report from inside the government says that India can increase its share of the US textile, clothing, and footwear markets. In fact, the Indian trade ministry said that, soon after the tariffs were announced, it studied the opportunities that may arise due to this new development in the US trade policy.

Because of the difference in tariffs, India also wants to get a bigger part of Apple’s iPhone production from China. However, the 26% tariff could still make the phone much more expensive in the US.

In other parts of Latin America, Graham Stock, a senior emerging market strategist at RBC BlueBay, said that Mexico, which had been hit hard by Trump’s anger in the past, has also come out pretty unscathed. This is because the USMCA trade deal that Trump negotiated during his first term protects most of its trade. 

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