United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday unveiled a major tariff package imposing duties on more than 180 countries, calling them ‘kind’ and ‘discounted’. Announced in the White House Rose Garden, the move marked one of the most extensive trade actions by the US in decades, reversing years of trade liberalisation.
Trump defended the tariffs as a way to “reclaim our jobs, our industries, and our small and medium-sized businesses”, vowing that they would make America “wealthy again” and bring jobs “roaring back”.
“For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike,” Trump said.
The sweeping duties, which drew bewildered criticism from longtime US allies, many of whom were caught off guard by the unexpectedly high rates, are most likely to erect new trade barriers around the world’s largest consumer economy, reshaping global trade dynamics.
Labelling them as “discounted reciprocal tariffs”, Trump explained that the US would respond to China’s 67 per cent tariff with a 34 per cent duty on Chinese imports.
Displaying a chart, the President detailed the tariff rates for key trade partners: 20 per cent on the European Union, 46 per cent on Vietnam, 32 per cent on Taiwan, 24 per cent on Japan, 26 per cent on India, 25 per cent on South Korea, and 36 per cent on Thailand, among others.
FULL LIST OF TARIFF RATES
- China: 34%
- European Union: 20%
- Vietnam: 46%
- Taiwan: 32%
- Japan: 24%
- India: 26%
- South Korea: 25%
- Thailand: 36%
- Switzerland: 31%
- Indonesia: 32%
- Malaysia: 24%
- Cambodia: 49%
- United Kingdom: 10%
- South Africa: 30%
- Brazil: 10%
- Bangladesh: 37%
- Singapore: 10%
- Israel: 17%
- Philippines: 17%
- Chile: 10%
- Australia: 10%
- Pakistan: 29%
- Turkey: 10%
- Sri Lanka: 44%
- Colombia: 10%
- Peru: 10%
- Nicaragua: 18%
- Norway: 15%
- Costa Rica: 10%
- Jordan: 20%
- Dominican Republic: 10%
- United Arab Emirates: 10%
- New Zealand: 10%
- Argentina: 10%
- Ecuador: 10%
- Guatemala: 10%
- Honduras: 10%
- Madagascar: 47%
- Myanmar (Burma): 44%
- Tunisia: 28%
- Kazakhstan: 27%
- Serbia: 37%
- Egypt: 10%
- Saudi Arabia: 10%
- El Salvador: 10%
- Cte d’Ivoire: 21%
- Laos: 48%
- Botswana: 37%
- Trinidad and Tobago: 10%
- Morocco: 10%
Trading partners are likely to retaliate with their own countermeasures, potentially driving up prices on goods ranging from bicycles to wine. According to the White House, these reciprocal tariffs do not apply to certain goods, including copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, lumber, gold, energy and “certain minerals that are not available in the United States”.