Trump's Tariffs Impact Ukraine's Economy: Insights on US Trade War

The new edition of the "Accent of the Week" analyzes the impact of US decisions on the world and Ukrainian economies. Intent continued to publish news about interesting declarations of officials, mobilization cases that attracted attention, and an exhibition of destroyed Russian equipment that opened on Kulikovo Pole.

This week's focus is on Trump's customs war and what it means for Ukraine

Donald Trump. Photo: AP

• On March 4, the US President imposed tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China.
• On April 2, he added 180 more countries to the list. He argued that these countries were allegedly robbing America.
• Countries that sold fewer goods to the United States than they bought, or the same amount, received a minimum tariff of 10%. Ukraine also received such a tariff.
• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that Washington's decision harms both businesses and consumers around the world, and especially transatlantic economic relations.
• Former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called it a trade war.
• On April 10, Donald Trump freezes tariff increases for 90 days.
• Ukraine's Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko commented on the 10% increase on her Facebook page: "What do the new US duties mean for Ukraine? It is difficult, but not critical."

Operation Declaration

Image: Intent

Intent continues to publish news about interesting declarations of elected officials. Here are some of them, more on the Intent website.

• The head of the Odesa regional council showed how his income increased after his salary was raised. Hryhoriy Didenko declared UAH 899,263 as his salary in 2024, which is UAH 221,459 more than in 2023. Other family incomes were: UAH 681,683 salary of the wife of the chairman of the regional council, MP Yulia Didenko, and UAH 140,376 she received from renting property.
• Mayors of district centers in Odesa region declared almost 25 hectares of land in total. Valeriy Shovkaliuk became the leader among mayors in terms of the number of land plots. His family owns almost 20 hectares of land, which is an absolute record among the mayors of Odesa region.
• Last year, the families of mayors of major cities in Odesa region earned over 22 million hryvnias in total. The leader in this indicator is the mayor of Izmail, whose wife Iryna Abramchenko earned UAH 8.3 million from business last year.
• In 204, Oleksandr Hrynchak, the head of Odesa District State Administration, rented a 96.9-square-meter apartment in Odesa.
• Last year, the dollar savings of the head of the Odesa District Council increased sevenfold. In 2024, the savings of Vitaliy Barvinenko, the head of Odesa District Council, amounted to 650 thousand hryvnias and 35 thousand US dollars. However, he stopped keeping cash in euros: in the 2023 declaration, the head of the district council had 5.2 thousand euros, while in last year's declaration, he did not. On the contrary, Vitaliy Barvinenko's wife Karina's dollars decreased from 65 thousand in 2023 to 20 thousand in 2024, while hryvnias increased from 800 to 900 thousand.

National Union of Journalists suspends issuance of press cards in Odesa due to scandal

Collage: Intent

• On April 5, it became known that Odesa media workers called on the head of the Odesa branch of the National Union of Journalists, Yuriy Rabotin, to resign and accused him of passing their personal data to Oleg Maltsev, who was accused of creating a combat group to overthrow the government.
• On April 9, Rabotin emphasized that he did not intend to justify himself and had already filed a lawsuit to put an end to the conflict. In the document, he does not name specific individuals, but insists that there should be legal consequences for spreading false information.
• On April 11, the National Union of Journalists stopped issuing press cards in Odesa because of the Rabotin scandal. For the period of consideration of the situation, the NUJU suspends acceptance of new members through the Odesa branch, as well as the transfer of forms of certificates and press cards to Odesa. At the same time, journalists from Odesa region can apply for membership through any other regional branch.

News around the topic of mobilization does not stop

Collage: Intent

• On April 5, it became known that the police were considering a report on the possible beating of a man in Sukhoi Lyman by employees of the Territorial Center for Recruitment and Social Support. The police could not say whether the incident had been registered in the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations, but noted that the man was alive and had not been hospitalized.
• On April 9, in Odesa, during a search of the office of the NGO"Ukraine is a Mother," law enforcement officers found 25 forms of summonses with signatures and seals that were not filled out.
• On April 10, an employee of the district CCC and JV died in Odesa region. The military enlistment office denied information about a drug overdose. The cause of death was cerebral edema as a result of the injury.
• On April 11, a junior sergeant of the State Border Guard Service was tried in Odesa region for organizing the illegal transportation of men across the border.

Broken Russian military equipment was shown on Kulykove field in Odesa

Photo: Intent / Oleksiy Kravchuk

• On April 10, a street exhibition of destroyed Russian military equipment and damaged Ukrainian facilities was opened at Kulykove Field in Odesa. It is dedicated to the Armed Forces of Ukraine and all those who defend our country from the aggressor every day.
• Among the exhibits are infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, a 152-mm self-propelled gun 2C5 Hyacinth-S and the remains of destroyed equipment. In particular, a Soviet-style BMP-2 equipped with small arms, several armored personnel carriers, and a mangled transformer were installed on the square. Particular attention is drawn to the modernized Russian BTR-80: its turret has been modified and a machine gun has been moved - such equipment is actively used by the enemy at the front.

Ігор Льов