Trump's favourite word is back

**Barbara George** (0:01)
Trump tariffs are back in the headlines. It's World Business Express from the BBC World Service. I'm Barbara George.
From Australia to Norway and Belgium, we'll hear what countries make of Trump's favorite word. And are we seeing the first crack in the AI tech boom?
US. President Donald Trump has previously told us, My favorite word is tariff. And they are back with a bang after he imposed taxes of between 10 and 12.5 percent on imports from many of America's major trading partners. These tariffs replace similar ones which have ended today, Friday. The US government says they're needed because some major trading partners haven't done enough to tackle forced labor. Let's hear from places where tariffs have gone up from 10 percent up to 12.5 percent. Rebecca Reardon is president of New South Wales Farmers in Australia and also farms some sheep herself.

**Rebecca Reardon** (1:09)
We think they're completely unjustified, this increase in tariffs. Australia has very strong industrial relations laws and protections around its workers. So we do not think there's any justification for it at all.

**Barbara George** (1:22)
And Australia has previously had relatively good access to the US market. Are you worried that these tariffs could make Australian produce less competitive compared with farmers in other countries?

**Rebecca Reardon** (1:35)
Yeah, look, we've seen some good demand coming out of the US for Australian lamb.
We don't expect it going from 10 to 12.5 percent to make that much impact on demand. But the US International Trade Commission investigation, where they're threatening a possibility of tariffs up to 30 percent, is a concern for the Australian sheep industry.

**Barbara George** (1:54)
And does that make you think about finding new export markets, specifically when they are threatening, increasing tariffs perhaps?

**Rebecca Reardon** (2:02)
Absolutely. Sheep prices are very good here at the moment. In fact, they're at record highs. But we are seeing a bit of a softening from some of the demand places around the world.
So if this softening just adds to that, and perhaps prices will fall here, which would be disappointing for producers.

**Barbara George** (2:19)
Now, let's head back over to Europe and to Norway, which is also facing an increase on its tariffs. I spoke to Christian Kramer, who is the CEO of the Norwegian Seafood Council.

**Christian Kramer** (2:30)
For Norway, a hike in the percentage on the tariff does mean that we will have an higher percentage than most of our competitors to the US market. It will give Norway this proportionate position in terms of tariffs and also making the export of seafood from Norway more challenging to the large US market.

**Barbara George** (2:52)
And how worried are you about losing ground in the US market then?

**Christian Kramer** (2:56)
The US is the world's largest importer of seafood, and for Norwegian seafood has been the number one growth market for many years now. We still have many markets, we sell seafood to more than 150 countries, but still, US is among our top priorities, and we have a very strong preference for Norwegian products in the US market. So we would really very much like to gain that position and remain in that position over time.

**Barbara George** (3:21)
You've seen exports to the US fall quite significantly this year.
How much of that is because of tariff uncertainty? And how much is that down to other challenges in the market?

**Christian Kramer** (3:33)
I would say that the majority of the challenges in the US market will come from the uncertainty related to tariffs and the trading situation to the US.
On average, we are at the same level, close to the same level as we were in the record year of 2025 in most other markets. But uncertainty in the US has forced some Norwegian exporters to look to other markets and then shifted their priority from the US. Still others are holding their ground and also gaining ground in the US, also in times of uncertainty. It's a mixed picture, but still with this news, I think many will see the US market as a more challenging market in the time to come.

**Barbara George** (4:15)
Also, Christian, how do you feel about the tariff situation amongst the EU and Norway? Because obviously EU tariffs are lower than what is being given to Norway.

**Christian Kramer** (4:25)
I think the official Norwegian position seen from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is that there should at least be no reason for having a difference between Norway and the EU when it comes to this Section 301 practice that the US is enforcing from today. So I think a level playing field between Norway and the EU should be expected. And I think that's one of the key goals for the Norwegian government as far as I can see it.