 "US President Donald Trump arrives at the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in Washington. (Photo: AP)")
US President Donald Trump is considering 20 per cent tariffs on most imports and generate $6 trillion in annual revenue, according to a report.
Trump has announced he would start the rollout of reciprocal tariffs on Wednesday. The resultant price rise amid falling consumer sentiment and persistent inflation has led to realistic fears of the US economy entering a recession this year as a result of Trump’s policies.
As Trump is all set to impose broad tariffs, calling it ‘Liberation Day’, follow the latest live updates here.
The Washington Post has reported that Trump’s aides have drafted a proposal for 20 per cent tariffs on most imports. They expect these tariffs to raise $6 trillion annually. However, at this stage, it is only a proposal and Trump has not finalised it.
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Initially, it was understood that Trump would roll out targeted tariffs on a country-by-country and product-by-product basis. Trump himself had said that he would impose as much tariffs, if not higher, that a country imposes on US products.
However, The Post has now reported that Trump in recent days has pushed for the universal tariff and sees it as simpler than country-by-country measures.
The idea has come at a time when Trump administration officials are wary that targeted tariffs would create incentives for countries to circumvent tariffs by shipping goods first to countries with lower tariffs and then to the United States, according to the newspaper.
Impact Shorts
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The Trump administration plans to use the revenue generated from these tariffs, which it hopes to be around $6 trillion, to fund planned tax cuts.
Ahead of the rollout of tariffs, nearly all economic indicators are grim . The stock markets crashed throughout March amid Trump’s topsy turvy policies — the S&P 500 fell by 5.8 per cent, the Nasdaq by 8.2 per cent, and the Dow Jones by 4.2 per cent. The Moody’s has raised the odds of recession from 15 per cent to 40 per cent. The consumer sentiment is at a four-year low. Inflation remains persistently above the Federal Reserve’s target.