Trump unveils wide-ranging global ‘reciprocal’ tariff plan

Tariffs that President Trump announced Wednesday will vary, but he said that as a starting point, new levies on imports from many nations will equal half what those nations charge on exports from the U.S. The post Trump unveils wide-ranging global ‘reciprocal’ tariff plan appeared first on FreightWaves.

Apr 2, 2025 - 23:13

Trump unveils wide-ranging global ‘reciprocal’ tariff plan

President Donald Trump revealed a broad tariff plan for all U.S. trade partners Wednesday on what he has referred to as “Liberation Day.”

“April 2, 2025, will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America’s destiny was reclaimed and the day that we began to make America wealthy again,” Trump said during a Rose Garden event at the White House. “For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike.”

Trump’s plan includes a baseline 10% tariff on trade partners, as well as 25% tariffs on certain imported vehicles and auto parts arriving into the U.S.

The tariffs will not exactly reciprocate what other countries levy on exports from the U.S. but will be calculated with that as a starting point, he said.

“This is not full reciprocal, it is kind reciprocal,” Trump said. “We will charge them approximately half of what they are and have been charging us.”

After Trump’s speech, the White House published the new tariff policy, which includes an exemption for products and shipments that comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

“For Canada and Mexico … USMCA compliant goods will continue to see a 0% tariff, non-USMCA compliant goods will see a 25% tariff, and non-USMCA compliant energy and potash will see a 10% tariff,” the plan stated.

Trump’s tariff plan may also exempt certain foreign goods from tariffs if they are not available in the U.S., including certain pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, lumber, steel and aluminum products, as well as autos and auto parts.

Some of the import tariff rates Trump announced during his address Wednesday include:

20% on the European Union.
10% on the United Kingdom.
34% on China.
24% on Japan.
32% on Taiwan.

Trump said the aim of the tariffs is to bring more manufacturing plants and jobs back to the U.S.

“We’re going to produce the cars and ships, chips, airplanes, minerals and medicines that we need right here in America. The pharmaceutical companies are going to come roaring back. They’re all coming back to our country, because if they don’t, they got a big tax to pay,” Trump said.