ASTANA – U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 10% minimum tariff on most goods imported to the United States and higher rates on dozens of trading partners, including a 27% reciprocal tariff on imports from Kazakhstan, during an April 2 speech at the White House Rose Garden.
Photo credit: esfera/Shutterstock.
According to Trump, the higher tariffs were calculated by taking half of what he said those countries had imposed on U.S. exports. Trump announced that a 10% rate on all countries is set to take effect on April 5 and that the reciprocal tariffs will be higher on April 9. He said these measures are aimed at eliminating trade imbalances and protecting the U.S. economy.
“April 2, 2025, will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America’s destiny was reclaimed,” Trump said.
The White House published the list of countries on the X social network. According to this data, 54% of tariffs on U.S. goods are in effect in Kazakhstan, so that the U.S. will introduce a reciprocal rate of 27% on Kazakh products. This is the highest rate among the Central Asian countries, where a 10% rate will be introduced for the Kyrgyz Republic, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
Kazakhstan was on the same list as India (26%), South Korea (25%), Japan (24%) and Malaysia (24%). China topped the list, imposing a 34% tariff on the 67% tariff it charges the U.S. However, the highest tariffs will affect Saint Pierre and Miquelon (50%), Lesotho (50%), Cambodia (49%), Laos (48%), Vietnam (46%), Sri Lanka (44%), Myanmar (44%), Syria (41%) and Iraq (39%), Newsweek reported.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the country’s trade deficit in 2024 was $918.4 billion. Its largest contributors were China ($295.4 billion), the European Union ($235.6 billion), Mexico ($171.8 billion) and Vietnam ($123.5 billion).
Kazakhstan exports largely unaffected by new U.S. tariffs, Trade Ministry reports
Kazakhstan’s Trade Ministry stated that a preliminary analysis of the new U.S. trade measures showed that 92% of Kazakhstan’s exports are not subject to additional tariffs. In 2024, trade turnover between the countries grew by 4% and reached $4.2 billion, while exports from Kazakhstan increased by 30.6%.
The list of exceptions includes key products: oil, uranium, silver, and ferroalloys. Additional duties will affect only 4.8% of exports worth $95.2 million, including phosphorus, ferrosilicon, lenses, wheat gluten, and ammonium nitrate.
The government of Kazakhstan is initiating consultations with the U.S. to discuss the possibility of removing new tariffs. As a WTO member, Kazakhstan continues to follow the principles of open and non-discriminatory trade.
In a recent interview with The Astana Times, Beata Javorcik, EBRD’s chief economist, explained that Central Asia is less exposed to changes in U.S. trade policy due to limited economic ties with the U.S.
She noted that the imposed tariff would affect countries like Hungary and Slovakia, which export cars and car parts to the U.S. The indirect effect, however, can be substantial, especially through the German economy, which is heavily intertwined with supply chains in Central and Eastern Europe.
“20% of German car exports are directed to the U.S. market. Actually, the U.S. is the largest market for the European Union, so tariffs on European exports to the U.S. could lead to a slowdown in the German economy, and this, in turn, would lower demand for exports from emerging Europe and emerging Asia,” she said.
