Trump Announces “Liberation Day” Tariffs

In a speech Wednesday afternoon, President Donald Trump announced his “liberation day” tariff plan and argued that the new trade policy will lead to a golden age for the American economy. “Today, we are standing up for the American worker and we are finally putting America First,” he said to an audience including a large number of union auto workers.

The new tariff plan consists of a base 10 percent tariff rate for all countries except those covered by the USMCA, and a reciprocal tariff at one-half the total combined rate of tariffs, trade barriers, and currency manipulation imposed on the U.S. Cars and auto parts will be subject to a higher, 25 percent base tariff.

Notable tariffs include a 34 percent tariff on Chinese imports, a 20 percent tariff on goods from the European Union, a 46 percent tariff on Vietnamese goods, a 24 percent tariff on imports from Japan, and a 17 percent tariff on Israeli goods entering the U.S.

“A single shipyard in China now produces more ships every year than all of the American shipyards combined,” Trump said. “In short, chronic trade deficits are no longer merely an economic problem, they are a national emergency that threatens our security and our way of life.”

Markets reacted negatively to the moves, with the S&P 500 dropping 2 percent after hours during the announcement.