Companies in panic! Trump hits the duties, business reacts with fear

The world business is increasingly afraid of the United States Trade Policy. According to the latest report of Dun & Bradstreet, published by Rzeczpospolita, the optimism index of entrepreneurs around the world fell by 20 percentage points in one quarter. It is a reaction to the announcements of Donald Trump’s administration regarding the imposition of new duties on goods imported to the USA.

The report indicates that in all 32 analyzed markets the level of business optimism has reached negative values, which means the advantage of negative assessments of the future economic situation over positive. The largest drop in moods was recorded among companies from Canada and Mexico, i.e. countries to be affected by new customs tariffs.

A decrease in optimism among global companies

At the turn of 2024 and 2025, the level of business optimism in Canada decreased from 7 percent. up to -18 percent, and in Mexico with -8 percent up to -15 percent A similar trend can be seen in Asia, especially in countries strongly dependent on exports, such as Japan, South Korea or Taiwan.

Poland is a bit better against the background of world markets. The optimism rate in the first quarter of 2025 was -1 percent, which means improvement compared to the fourth quarter of 2024, when this value was -3 percent.

Trump fulfills its threats – customs duties on Mexico and Canada

Donald Trump officially announced that on Saturday a 25 % duties will be imposed on products imported from Mexico and Canada. The US president noted, however, that it is not yet sure whether they will also cover imported oil.

The decision to introduce duties is to be a means of pressure on US neighbors regarding the limitation of drug smuggling and illegal immigration. Although the governments of Canada and Mexico took actions to meet American demands, Trump found their efforts insufficient.

Consequences for world trade

Canada and Mexico are the key partners of the United States, responsible for almost 30 percent. all imports to the USA. New tariffs can significantly affect the costs of goods and further development of economic cooperation between North America.

In the face of uncertainty related to Trump’s trade policy, entrepreneurs around the world hold their breath, analyzing potential effects on their industries. As experts indicate, further decisions of the American president can dostabilize the global market even more.