What has happened between the US and China is not just a tariff war, but a trade embargo between the two economic superpowers.
Both the Greek government, the Bank of Greece, and economic analysts have said that the effects of Trump’s tariffs on the EU and the trade war with China will be more indirect. This is because only 4% of Greek exports (by value) go to the US. However, almost 60% of Greek exports go to the EU, which sends about 20% of exports to the US.
Therefore, since the EU will be directly affected by US tariffs, Greece’s exports to the EU will also be affected.
And this for two main reasons:
- As of April 9, 2025, a 10% tariff applies to imports into the US from the EU, including Greece. Consequently, there will be direct and indirect impacts, although they will be smaller than the initial rate announced by Trump for the EU (and Greece), namely 20%. Also, the three-month suspension given by Trump perpetuates uncertainty in the global market, which – as everyone emphasizes – can be a worse factor for the economy than a negative development, provided that this is certain.
- Trump may have lowered the bar on tariffs against the EU, but he raised it to astronomical levels against China. According to the landscape that had developed since Friday, the US has imposed 145% tariffs on China, while China has imposed 125% tariffs on the US.
Greek traders answer six critical questions about how the global tariff war – with the US and China as protagonists – affects Greece:
1. What do tariffs of 125%-145 % between two countries mean, especially since these are the two economic superpowers of the planet?
These are not simply trade “tariffs”, but – in essence – an “embargo” – a trade blockade of the US against China and of China against the US.
Customs duties of this level lead to a doubling of the price of imports in each country’s market, which in practice makes importing from both sides economically prohibitive.
This is how trade transactions between the leading economies of the Western and Eastern Hemispheres are brought to a standstill!
2. Can tariffs be circumvented?
On a case-by-case basis, they can be bent by introducing an intermediate stage between the US and China and China and Russia.
The first moves have already become known, with the most important being the transfer of Apple iPhones from China, where the American technology giant’s factory is located, to India and from there to the US.
Thus, the cost of importing iPhones from China to the US increases by only 10% – that is, the duty Apple must pay to import iPhones from India- since nothing has changed in the tariff regime for imports to India from the US.
How will American companies that export products from China cover the increased costs? By sharing it with other markets, including, of course, Greece, leading to price increases for their products.
3. What applies to imports of products into the US from Chinese companies?
In the case of Apple or other products produced in China but by US-based companies, the US can accept the “indirect route” of importing their products (i.e., their entry into the US through a third “neutral” country). However, it is by no means a given that the US will accept such a solution for the products of Chinese-based companies.
It is not certain that the US would accept products from Chinese companies produced in China through a “third” country to enter the US to avoid the 145% tariff.
Europe’s ports could be transshipment points for products produced and owned by China, mainly since the Chinese COSCO controls seven of them, including Piraeus.
Thus, in theory, Chinese-owned and produced products could be transported by Chinese ships to Piraeus and then, for example, by Greek ships to the USA, with importers there paying a duty of only 10% and not 145%.
This would have obvious benefits for Greek shipping. However, the increase in overall transportation costs at the expense of Chinese export businesses would potentially be passed on to the prices of products they export outside the US, which would also impact the prices of Chinese imports from China.
4. How profitable is it to transport Chinese products from China to the US through “third” countries?
The above way out of the tariffs that the US has imposed on China could become a reality not only on the condition that the US government accepts it, but also on the condition that it will not ultimately impose the shipping fee even on any tankers built in China, as Trump has announced.
This fee is likely to be imposed this month and will obviously make sea trade more expensive, not only from China to the US but from every country to the US. This is because a very large part of the Greek merchant fleet has been built in China, while an even larger one has been ordered again in China.
This means that even if Trump allows the transport of Chinese products from China to the US via Piraeus and Greek shipping companies, Greek shipping companies will suffer a special American “tariff” through this shipping fee.
5. Is Greece’s problem with the tariff war (only) commercial?
In addition to trade, the total tariff war between the US and China has had other impacts on Greece. These have to do with the dollar-euro exchange rate, which has weighed on the dollar.
This fact brings two negative developments:
- It makes holidays in Greece more expensive (and therefore more inaccessible) for Americans, who in recent years have been contributing an increasingly larger share of tourists to Greece.
- The expensive dollar has begun to create conditions for delays in shipping companies’ payments to suppliers, as shipping companies are paid in dollars but pay in euros and, therefore, at the current exchange rate, they will lose out by paying in euros.
At the same time, minerals such as copper, which Greece imports from the Asian giant, have seen their price collapse after April 2, 2025, resulting in the Chinese reportedly avoiding signing export agreements to Greece, expecting its international price to increase again and thus maximize their profit. However, this is creating a dysfunction in the production of Greek companies…
Dimitris Katsaganis is a columnist for NewsIT.
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