US President Donald Trump’s unilateral tariffs will hurt Americans more than the countries targeted by them, according to former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who warns that the US cost of living will increase.
Advertisement
“American products cannot compete with the rest of the world which produces cheaper products, so the American economy is going to suffer. I believe that within a short while, Trump will have to reverse his decision,” Mahathir said in a recent interview with Kyodo News.
The 99-year-old, who served as Malaysian leader from 1981 to 2003 and from 2018 to 2020, said Trump’s series of steep tariffs mean items such as Apple iPhones produced in China and India will become much dearer.
“If America applies high tariffs on imports of iPhones into America, then the iPhone will cost more in America because of the tariffs. So Americans will suffer from the high cost.”
The levies on US trading partners were announced on April 2 but put on hold a week later for 90 days by Trump, except for China, on which he raised duties to 145 per cent.
Advertisement