Trump slaps reciprocal tariffs on each nation and sends inventory futures into chaos as world reacts: Live updates
Donald Trump has unveiled new tariffs on all U.S. trading partners in what the president has repeatedly billed as “Liberation Day” as the announcement approached.
Trump promised to roll out reciprocal dollar-for-dollar tariffs on nations that levy duties on U.S. goods as part of an aggressive attempt to fulfill his administration’s America First agenda and correct years of what he deems “unfair” trade.
In a speech at a “Make America Wealthy Again” event in the White House Rose Garden shortly after U.S. markets closed, the president announced across-the-board tariffs of 10 percent on all nations with reciprocal tariffs for the “worst offenders” at 50 percent of what they tax American goods.
Neighboring Canada and Mexico are not subject to additional tariffs beyond those already imposed related to fentanyl trafficking, with exemptions under the USMCA trade agreement.
Plans were kept firmly under wraps in advance of the event with Trump’s team reportedly weighing options through Tuesday. However, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the president had already decided his course of action and that the tariffs would go into effect almost immediately. The only way to avoid the new levies, she said, is to move production to the U.S.
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European Union nations face stiffer 20 percent penalties while China will pay 34 percent and Cambodia an eye-watering 49 percent. Switzerland was also hit hard with 31 percent, Taiwan faces 32 percent, and India getting 26 percent.
A Downing Street source said: “We don’t want any tariffs at all, but a lower levy than others vindicates our approach. It matters because the difference between 10 percent and 20 percent is thousands of jobs.”
Albert Toth and Barney Davis report from London.
Trump takes aim at ‘de minimis’ exceptions on goods imported from China
Trump has signed an executive order that the White House said would close a “loophole” on small-ticket imported goods from China.
The action seeks to scrap exceptions that had shielded from tariffs on imported goods from China worth less than $800.
This is legally known as the “de minimis” treatment. It suggests that the cost of what’s being imported was too low to merit a tariff.
Trump’s action means goods from China would no longer get the exception.
His new round of sweeping tariffs also seeks to end similar exceptions for imports from all countries, but only once the U.S. government has the personnel to properly process such imports.
That means imported goods from most of the world worth less than $800 would eventually also lose their exceptions.
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The US president said his “Liberation Day” announcement — in which some nations will pay as much far higher rates — was a “declaration of economic independence.”
David Maddox reports from London.
Italy’s Meloni calls Trump tariffs on Europe ‘wrong’
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni said the introduction by the U.S. of new tariffs against the European Union is a “wrong” measure that doesn’t favor either side.
“We will do everything we can to work towards an agreement with the United States, with the aim of avoiding a trade war that would inevitably weaken the West in favor of other global players,” Meloni said in a Facebook post.
“In any case, as always, we will act in the interest of Italy and its economy, also by discussing with other European partners.”
Could Mexico and Canada benefit from Trump’s tariffs?
Mexico and Canada, excluded from the list of reciprocal tariffs due to the trilateral free trade agreement between the countries, may stand to gain by Trump’s announcement, said Gabriela Siller, economic analyst of the Mexican financial group Banco Base.
Mexico is still affected by a number of more limited tariffs on steel and aluminum and may be subject to tariffs down the line as the administration continues to put pressure on the country to control fentanyl production and migration.
But dodging broader measures by the Trump administration on Wednesday could give Mexico a competitive market edge “despite Trump’s protectionist rhetoric,” Siller said.
“It’s bad news for the world,” Siller said. “Still, it’s good news for Mexico. … Tariffs will surely lower what (these countries) sell to the United States. That opens up an opportunity in the market.”
Trump finally unveiled his long-awaited tariff plan. Here’s what happened on ‘Liberation Day’
Alex Woodward reports from New York.
E.U. president to give statement on tariffs at 11 p.m. ET
The Wall Street Journal reports that Ursula von der Leyen, president of the EU’s executive body, will deliver a statement on the new tariffs at 5 a.m. Brussels time on Thursday, which is 11 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
President Donald Trump announced what he referred to as a “discounted reciprocal tariff” of 20 percent for E.U. imports during his event in the Rose Garden on Wednesday.
The tax on European goods is double that imposed on many other U.S. trading partners and allies, including the U.K. and Australia (10 percent — the minimum level), but below that set for many other large exporters into the U.S. such as China (34 percent), South Korea (25 percent), and Vietnam (46 percent).
Australia says U.S. tariffs not ‘act of a friend’
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday of the decision by President Donald Trump to impose tariffs: “This is not the act of a friend. Australians will see the relationship differently as a result.”
He said his country would not place reciprocal tariffs against the U.S.
Trump said on Wednesday that he would impose a 10% baseline tariff on all imports and higher duties on some of his country’s biggest trading partners, in a move that ratchets up a trade war that Trump kicked off on his return to the White House.
Australia — along with a host of other countries including the U.K., Singapore, Chile, Colombia, New Zealand, and the UAE — is being tariffed at the base level of 10 percent, versus countries deemed “worst offenders” by the Trump administration for their taxes on American imports, such as Vietnam (46%), Japan (24%), and Switzerland (31%).
With reporting from Reuters
Source: independent.co.uk
