Trump Imposes Sweeping Reciprocal Tariffs

Key Takeaways

• President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs unique to different U.S. trading partners Wednesday, ranging from a minimum of 10%.
• Important U.S. trading partners face high tariffs: 20% on the European Union, 34% on China, and 24% on Japan.
• Ahead of the announcement, economists predicted broad tariffs would push up consumer prices and risk plunging the economy into a recession.

President Donald Trump announced "reciprocal" tariffs against a wide range of foreign countries Wednesday, in a move that could have widespread effects on the economy. 

Trump said each country's imports will be taxed at rates based on "tariffs, non-monetary barriers and other forms of cheating" that are levied against American goods. The tariffs range from 10% to as high as 50%, according to a chart the White House posted on social media. Notably, Chinese products would be hit with a 34% tariff, and the European Union will be tariffed at 20%, and goods from Japan at 24%.

"That means they do it to us, and we do it to them. Very simple," Trump said.

A minimum 10% tariff would apply to all countries, and each tariff will go into effect no later than April 9, according to the executive order.

Wednesday's tariffs were another escalation in Trump's widening trade policies, which are intended to protect American industry by putting up barriers to competition from foreign companies. The announcement, dubbed "Liberation Day" by Trump, comes on the heels of other major tariffs announced over the past few months, including a 25% tariff on imported cars, 25% tariffs against Canada and Mexico, and an additional 20% tariff on China.

The imposition of tariffs could have immediate and longer-term consequences.

Household budgets could take a big hit from paying the import taxes, which economists generally assume are mostly passed on to consumers. A typical household would pay $3,400 to $4,200 more per year under 20% universal tariffs, the Yale Budget Lab estimated this week in advance of the announcement.

Tariffs at that level would also drag on the job market, especially if foreign countries retaliated with tariffs of their own, economists at Moody's Analytics found in an analysis ahead of the announcement. A 20% tariff matched with tit-for-tat retaliation by other countries would push the country into a recession and cost as many as 4 million jobs, Brendan LaCerda, an economist at Moody's, wrote in a commentary.

In addition to the direct costs of the tariffs, the uncertainty surrounding them has also dragged on the economy. Previous rounds of tariffs have come with last-minute changes and delays, making consumers and business leaders unsure of what policies will be months or years from now, which discourages major purchases and investments.

Trump dismissed the concerns of economists and business leaders, saying predictions of economic damage from tariffs he imposed in 2018 proved incorrect, although some economic analyses show those levees did increase prices for the products they targeted.

"This will be an entirely different country in a short period of time," he said. "It will be something the whole world will be talking about."

Details Emerge

The new reciprocal tariffs did not apply to products already covered by other tariffs, the White House said. For example, cars subject to a 25% tariff announced this week would not see an increased tariff on top of that.

Products from Canada and Mexico are similarly subject to a 25% tariff announced last month, other than products subject to the USMCA treaty will continue to have no tariff, according to a White House fact sheet. Also exempt are pharmaceutical products and computer chips, two products that Trump has proposed to hit with tariffs, but has not yet put into place.

On the other hand, the tariffs against China would be on top of existing tariffs, meaning Chinese products would be subject to a tariff of at least 54%, according to a CNBC reporter, citing a text message conversation with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Update, April 2, 2025: This article has been updated after publication to include additional details about the tariffs.

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