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Shipping Race: How Trump's Tariffs Sparked Global Economic Chaos
The tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump have prompted companies from around the world to rush to move their goods to the United States ahead of their official implementation. This has caused significant disruptions in global trade, distorted economic data, and disrupted the US trade balance.
According to a report prepared by the Wall Street Journal and reviewed by Sky News Arabia Economy, global companies selling everything from beverages to telecommunications equipment to cosmetics rushed to fill containers with goods and ship them to the US during the first quarter of 2025 before the start of April, when the so-called "Liberation Day" tariffs were due to be implemented. This has led to a huge jump in US imports.
The global companies' race to escape US tariffs was immediately reflected in the figures, as data published last Wednesday showed that US imports jumped by more than 40 percent year-on-year during the first quarter of 2025.
As a direct result, the US trade deficit in goods widened to an unprecedented level, reaching $162 billion in March, according to preliminary estimates.
In contrast, exports to the United States contributed to the eurozone's economic growth of an unexpectedly large 1.4% in the first quarter of 2025, while Taiwan's economy expanded by 9.7% year-on-year.
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