Filenews 13 April 2025 - by Eleftheria Paizanou
The bully tactic seems to be applied by US President Donald Trump, who decides and orders, imposing absurd and unrealistic tariffs on all countries.
Other countries, including the European Union, responded to Trump's tariffs, in turn imposing additional tariffs.
Amid the uproar and concern caused, the U.S. refrigerated for 90 days tariffs on all countries except China, keeping a 10 percent surcharge.
With posts on social media, the US President tried to encourage Americans about the correctness of his decisions, which he says will strengthen the US economy and bring it back to the top. He spoke of "Liberation Day" to demonstrate the exploitation of the United States by other countries, which, he said, are enriching themselves at the expense of the United States.
In practice, however, it appeared that his decisions not only did not liberate the United States, but trapped it. His decisions led the U.S. into economic protectionism and caused many side effects, panic and shock in the markets, negatively affecting U.S. bonds and alienating investors who were selling off U.S. bonds.
This would create a problem in servicing the U.S. public debt, so within a few hours the American President changed his decision, excluding the other countries, focusing only on China.
The paroxysm of tariffs did not stop here, with China imposing counter-tariffs in turn. All of this is causing uncertainty in all sectors of the global economy. It turns world trade upside down, with the risk of recession and geopolitical upheavals visible.
Cyprus is not directly affected by the decisions, as the United States is not considered a major player in exports and imports. However, the impact of the European economy is a fact that will also be passed on to the small economy of our country, which has created some cushions, however, no one knows if these are enough to deal with the consequences.
For this reason, Cyprus should cooperate with Brussels and comply with all the decisions that will be taken, in order to shield the Cypriot economy. At the same time, the country should apply the new fiscal rules and not deviate from the commitments and targets set by Europe, so as not to be taken by surprise.
It should not deviate from disciplined fiscal policy. Therefore, it is time for the right decisions and preventive policy to be able to contain any repercussions that may arise. Vigilance is required from the Cypriot authorities so that Cyprus participates in the agreements that exist from other countries.
At the same time, incentives should be given so that tourism, which is the main sources of income for the Cypriot economy, should not be affected. The fear is that the tariffs will affect the incomes of citizens who, in order to be able to survive, will restrict travel. The revenues that will be lost from tourism will have to be replaced in other ways.
Also, openings should be made to investors, through the granting of tax and other incentives. The President of the Republic has already travelled to the United States to attract investments.
Nikos Christodoulides said that the visit to the United States was favourable and soon there are expected to be announcements about the interest shown by some investors. Therefore, proper planning is needed to create the defenses needed to protect citizens from Trump's tricks.
