Trump Tariffs Push Global South Toward China — SkimNews
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- Trump imposed 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion of Canadian goods after August negotiations collapsed; Ottawa retaliated with matching duties and Trump threatened 50% levies on Canadian cars, trucks and parts from January — despite the US still absorbing nearly 70% of Canadian exports.
- Carney reached a preliminary economic and trade understanding with Beijing allowing up to 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles into Canada at a 6.1% tariff; China suspended 100% tariffs on Canadian canola meal and peas and 25% duties on lobster and crab for most of 2026.
- From May 1, China removed tariffs on imports from all 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic ties; South Africa signed a framework agreement with Beijing in February while trying to offset damage from a 30% US tariff imposed the previous year.
- Brazil now faces a new 25% US tariff imposed in July affecting an estimated $7 billion to $11 billion of exports, even though the US has consistently run a trade surplus with Brazil; India is still negotiating a deal with Washington after a fresh 10% US duty was applied to 55% of its exports to the American market, per India's commerce ministry.
- Singapore's ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute 2026 State of Southeast Asia survey found 43.4% of respondents said Trump-era punitive trade measures worsened their positive impressions of the US, up from 21.3% a year earlier, and 51.9% named US leadership under Trump as the region's top geopolitical concern.
- Pew surveyed more than 42,000 adults across 36 countries and found China viewed more favorably than the US in most of them; in South Africa, 72% called China a reliable partner versus 46% for the US, while India was one of only six countries where the US remained more popular than China.
- China still protects its own industries — from January it imposed a country-specific beef quota system with an additional 55% tariff on shipments exceeding those quotas — and European governments are pressing for stronger responses to Chinese industrial overcapacity.
Why it matters: Countries that build trade routes, financing channels and political options outside the US system become harder for Washington to pressure later, and China gains without winning anyone's loyalty. Brazil, India, South Africa and Canada all retain deep ties to the US economy yet are visibly accelerating hedging — Canada's preliminary EV-for-canola deal, South Africa's February framework with Beijing and Brazil's scramble to diversify after a 25% July tariff show diversification is now operational, not theoretical.
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