US President Donald Trump has announced a round of sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on countries around the world. In a speech in the White House Rose Garden, Trump said he would sign an executive order, saying it marked the day "America's industry is reborn," adding that his plan would "make America wealthy again."
He called the tariff plan "a declaration of economic independence" and "our turn to prosper." "They do it to us, we do it to them," Trump said, explaining that the US is only defending itself from tariffs imposed on its industries.
Trump railed against countries like Thailand, India, the European Union, South Korea, and Japan for mistreating the US economically. "In many cases the friend is worse than the foe," Trump said, acknowledging that many of those countries were traditional US allies.
Trump invited several union members of the autoworkers industry, inviting one of them on stage to speak about the state of car manufacturing in the US. Trump announced 25% tariffs on foreign made automobiles.
US targets Asian countries with high tariffs
The US imposed a 10% tariffs baseline for most countries, but targeted specific countries with a higher rate. Chief among them were Asian nations and traditional allies like Japan with 24%, South Korea with 25% and Taiwan with 46%.
"Taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years," Trump said in remarks at the White House. "But it is not going to happen anymore."
The three Asian nations are home to manufacturing industries like the automobile sector in Japan and South Korea, and semiconductors in Taiwan. He accused Taiwan of taking "all of our computer chips and semiconductors."
Trump said Japanese governments had been "very smart" on trade and accused Tokyo of targeting the US when it came to the auto industry. Other Asian nations affected were textile manufacturing producers like Cambodia and Vietnam, which saw hits of 46% and 49% respectively.
"Great people, they like me, I like them, the problem is they charge us 90%," Trump said, explaining his rationale for the measure.
EU hit with 20% tariffs
US President Donald Trump said imports from the European Union to the United States would see a 20% tariff. The EU is one of the most important trading partners for the US and a long-time ally.
"They're ripping us off. It's so sad to see," Trump said of the EU during his speech in the White House Rose Garden.
Trump has previously lashed out at the EU over the balance of trade, especially given the higher volume of European goods sold in the US compared to US exports.
China hit with 34% tariff, loses 'de minimis' exemption
China was hit with 34% tariffs, landing at the top of the list in Trump's announcement of sweeping global tariffs, although the US president said the number was "a discount."
Trump accused China of "currency manipulation and trade barriers."
The figure comes on top of the already imposed 20% duties on all imports from China and 25% duties on steel and aluminum, and extended them to nearly $150 billion (€138 billion) worth of downstream products.
Trump also signed another executive order that closes a trade loophole used to ship low-value packages duty-free from China, known as "de minimis."
Ending the exemption means e-commerce firms potentially face more scrutiny and analysts have warned that some items currently imported through platforms like Temu or Shein might no longer be allowed into the US as a result.
According to a fact sheet provided by the White House, Trump chose to end the duty-free treatment for the covered goods imported from China and Hong Kong as a step to combat the illicit flow of synthetic opioids into the United States.
"President Trump is targeting deceptive shipping practices by Chinese-based shippers, many of whom hide illicit substances, including synthetic opioids, in low-value packages to exploit the de minimis exemption," the statement read.
World reacts to Trump's tariff announcement
Here are some of the reactions from world leaders to Trump's new tariffs.
Brazil
Latin America's largest economy said "it is evaluating all the possible actions to ensure reciprocity in bilateral trade, including resorting to the World Trade Organization, in defense of legitimate national interests," the Brazilian government said in a statement.
It added that it remains open to dialogue and believes the US claims that the tariffs are reciprocal don't "reflect reality."
Poland
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk posted on X, saying: "Friendship means partnership. Partnership means really and truly reciprocal tariffs. Adequate decisions are needed."
Australia
Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday the tariffs were "not the act of a friend," but ruled out placing reciprocal tariffs against the United States.
Switzerland
Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter said in a post on X that Switzerland will "quickly determine" its next steps, adding that "the country's long-term economic interests are paramount."
United Kingdom
"Our approach is to remain calm and committed to doing this deal, which we hope will mitigate the impact of what has been announced," UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds said.
Reynolds added that the UK government would continue to defend the country's interests, saying in his statement that "nothing is off the table."
