Business
Trump announces reciprocal tariffs at 'Liberation Day' event
On April 2, President Donald Trump announced tariff updates which will impact trade relations and domestic industries. The tariffs are part of a broader effort to promote economic independence and expand American-made companies and products
April 2, 2025 4:39pm
Updated: April 2, 2025 7:05pm
President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced country-specific rates for a broad reciprocal tariff plan after campaigning on rebalancing American trade with its global partners.
“I will sign a historic executive order instituting reciprocal tariffs on countries throughout the world. Reciprocal, that means they do it to us and we do it to them,” he told the gathering of Cabinet members, media, and guests from various industries. Trump made the announcement in the White House's Rose Garden.
Trump further showed a chart to the crowd displaying the tariff rates he planned to apply to each nation. China, which tariffs U.S. goods at a rate of 67%, will be tariffed 34%. Countries in the European Union which tariff U.S. goods at a rate of 39%, will be tariffed 20%. Vietnam will be tariff at 46%, Taiwan at 32%, Japan at 24%, India at 26% and South Korea at 25%. The chart included more 20 nations.
The White House put out a fact sheet prior to the announcement, highlighting how this administration hoped the tariffs will balance trade relationships and bring manufacturing back to American soil. The readout quoted a 2024 study that found that his first-term tariffs “strengthened the U.S. economy” and “led to significant restoring in industries like manufacturing and steel production.” Already in his second term, investments into the U.S. economy by entities such as Oracle, SoftBank, Apple, and NVIDIA have reached nearly $5 trillion.
Wednesday also marked the start of a 25% tariff on automobiles not made in the United States. However, auto manufactures Honda, Nissan, and Hyundai have committed to shifting production back to the United States.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries criticized the president's tariff plan, telling reporters on Wednesday, “House Republicans, Senate Republicans and Donald Trump haven’t done a single thing to lower the cost of living in this country. Not a single bill. Not a single executive order. Not a single administrative action,” Jeffries told reporters at the Capitol.
“In fact, Republicans are crashing the American economy in real time and driving us to a recession. This is not liberation day, it’s recession day. That’s what the Trump tariffs are going to do: crash the economy," he added.
