President Donald Trump speaks during an event to announce new tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
President Donald Trump speaks during an event to announce new tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
President Trump on Wednesday imposed a baseline tariff of 10% on all imports and additional, reciprocal levies on “worst-offender” nations in a bold restructuring of the global trading order he views as fundamentally unfair to the U.S. and calamitous for its workers.
Mr. Trump said the reciprocal tariffs will be roughly half the combined rate that other nations charge on U.S. goods through tariffs and other barriers “because we are being very kind.” For instance, China’s rate of 67% would be met with a 34% rate from the U.S. and the EU’s 39% rate would be met with a 20% rate.
The president said he had no choice but to fight back against nations that “looted” and “pillaged” U.S. taxpayers, fulfilling his decades-long belief that bigger tariffs would be a salve for America’s wounded manufacturing base.
“This is [the] Liberation Day we’ve been waiting for a long time,” he said at an event in the White House’s Rose Garden that featured Cabinet members and blue-collar workers in jackets and helmets.
The president promised that “jobs and factories will come roaring back to our country.”
The baseline tariffs will go into effect on Saturday, and the reciprocal regime will take effect on April 9.
To justify the levies, Mr. Trump is declaring a national emergency over U.S. trade deficits with other nations that total over $1 trillion. Mr. Trump and his team believe they are being lenient, imposing new taxes on foreign goods that remain lower than the tariff levels those nations impose on U.S. products.
“They do it to us, and we do it to them. Very simple, can’t get any simpler than that,” Mr. Trump said. “We’re gonna take care of our people first.”
Still, the plan is arguably the most seismic trade move by the U.S. since World War II. Some economists warn that the plan is a huge gamble that will raise prices and increase the risk of a recession.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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