 "Trump confirms 25% auto tariff; introduces 34% tariff on Chinese imports, 26% on India, and 20% on EU")
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday confirmed 25% tariff on all foreign-made automobiles and introduced 34% tariff on Chinese imports, 20% tariff on imports from the EU and 24% and 26% tariffs on Japan and India, respectively.
President Trump's full chart: pic.twitter.com/i9oRBQHR95
— Morning Brew ☕️ (@MorningBrew) April 2, 2025
Sweeping auto tariffs of 25% that Trump announced last week will take effect at 12:01 am (0401 GMT) on Thursday.
Speaking in the White House Rose Garden, Trump said he will implement “reciprocal tariffs” on all countries of “approximately half” of what they charge the US.
Bringing out a chart to show the audience, he said that China “charges” the US a tariff of 67% so the US will charge China a 34% tariff.
The chart also showed that the US will charge the European Union a 20% tariff, Vietnam a 46% tariff, Taiwan 32%, Japan 24%, India 26%, South Korea 25% and Thailand 36%.
Trump announced that the US will levy a 10% tariff on all goods imported from the United Kingdom.
In addition, Cambodia will face a 49% tariff, marking one of the highest rates under the new policy. South Africa will be hit with a 30% levy, while Indonesia will see a 32% tariff on its exports to the US. Both Brazil and Singapore will face a 10% tariff.
Moreover, the US President said that 10% base interest will also be added to all US imports though more clarity on it is pending.
Citing security concerns arising from ongoing trade deficits, the White House declared a “national emergency” and announced that a baseline 10% tariff would take effect at 12:01 AM (0401 GMT) on April 5. Higher tariff rates on various trade partners will be implemented starting at 12:01 AM on April 9, reported AFP.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsTrump said the tariffs he has announced will generate “$6tn in investments” but experts said that tariffs are actually paid for by American businesses and consumers. That would make it the largest “tax hike” in US history, reported The Guardian.
The US president said that world leaders who want an exemption to his “reciprocal tariffs” should change their trade policy.
“Terminate your own tariffs, drop your barriers, don’t manipulate your currencies,” The Guardian quoted him as saying, adding, “start buying tens of billions of dollars of American goods.”
According to The Guardian report, the European Union, which is facing 20% tariffs on all exports to the US, will not react until “very early tomorrow” when the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will make a statement.
In his introductory remarks, Trump said that the US had been “looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike.”
The 78-year-old Republican said he was signing an order to impose “reciprocal tariffs on countries throughout the world” based on how they treated the US.
“This is Liberation Day,” AFP quoted Trump as saying, adding that it would “forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America’s destiny was reclaimed.”
An audience of cabinet members as well as workers in hard hats from industries including steel, oil and gas whooped and cheered as Trump said the tariffs would “make America wealthy again.”
Trump has telegraphed the move for weeks, insisting tariffs will keep the US from being “ripped off” by other countries and spur a new “Golden Age” of American industry.
But many experts warn the tariffs risk triggering a recession at home as costs are passed on to US consumers, and a damaging trade war abroad.
The world has been on edge ahead of Trump’s announcement as countries waited to see how badly they would be targeted. Markets have been volatile as investors hedged their best.
Meanwhile, the US dollar on Wednesday fell one percent against the euro as President Trump announced he is signing an order imposing retaliatory tariffs on US trading partners.
The dollar also slipped against other major currencies, including the British pound sterling and the Swiss franc.
With inputs from agencies
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