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More countries have voiced strong opposition to the US' new sweeping tariffs, with leaders from Europe, Asia, and Africa opposing the move and calling for more action to prevent further trade escalation.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a "reciprocal tariff" policy, imposing sweeping new tariffs on almost all its trading partners, sparking a raft of retaliatory moves by targeted countries.

France's industry minister called on Friday for a proportionate but firm response to US tariffs and said Europe wanted to avoid a damaging trade escalation, with the door open to negotiation, according to a report by Reuters on Friday.

Speaking to reporters at an Airbus factory in Toulouse, France's Industry Minister Marc Ferracci said sweeping tariffs introduced by Trump were without precedent since the 1930s and could destabilize the global economy and cost jobs.

"We obviously expect a response which must be proportionate because neither France nor Europe want an escalation in trade: a trade war can only have losers and it is absolutely certain that it will hit the American economy," he said.

British prime minister Keir Starmer spoke to his Australian and Italian counterparts, Anthony Albanese and Giorgia Meloni, respectively, about how they should respond to Trump's tariffs, on Friday, saying they agreed an "all-out trade war would be extremely damaging," according to The Guardian.

"They all agreed that an all-out trade war would be extremely damaging and is in nobody's interests, while agreeing to keep in close contact in the coming days," according to the report.

In a YouTube video on Friday, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said that Singapore must brace itself for more shocks to come, as the global calm and stability that once existed "will not return anytime soon," CNA reported. 

"We cannot expect that the rules which protected small states will still hold," said Wong. "I am sharing this with you so that we can all be mentally prepared."

He assured that if Singapore stays resolute and united, it will continue to hold its own in what he described as a "troubled world" that is seeing a growing likelihood of a full-blown global trade war.

South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola on Friday also reiterated Pretoria's concerns over newly imposed US tariffs, unveiling a strategic plan to diversify the country's export markets, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

At a joint press conference in Johannesburg with Minister of Trade, Industry, and Competition Parks Tau, Lamola described the tariffs as "a barrier to trade and shared prosperity." Lamola announced that South Africa would take wide-ranging measures to counter the tariffs. Foremost among these would be diversifying South Africa's export destinations to curb dependency on a single market, as reported by Xinhua.

Previously, some national leaders from around the world have urged companies to suspend planned investments in the US, while heads of international organizations warned of the dire consequences of the imposition of the US' latest sweeping "reciprocal tariffs."