Over the past week, President Trump has made major changes to international tariffs, some which have been deemed early successes, and others which have quickly come back to bite us. I'll do the best I can to recap the news surrounding tariffs below:
April 2, 2025: Donald Trump's “Liberation Day”
President Donald Trump declared April 2 as “Liberation Day,” unveiling extensive tariff measures including:
- A 10% baseline tariff on all imports from most countries, effective April 5.
- Additional “reciprocal” tariffs targeting approximately 60 nations, calculated based on perceived trade imbalances and barriers. Notable rates include:
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- China: An additional 34% tariff, totaling an effective rate of 54% when combined with existing tariffs.
- European Union: 20%
- India: 26%
- Vietnam: 46%
- Cambodia: 49%
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Sri Lanka: 44%
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- Taiwan: 32%
- Japan: 24%
- South Korea: 25%
- Lesotho: 50%
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- A 25% tariff on all imported automobiles, effective April 3.
April 4, 2025: The world reacts
- China announced a 34% tariff on all US goods, effective April 10, in direct response to the US measures.
- Both the EU and Canada signaled intentions to implement countermeasures, with Canada specifically announcing a 25% tariff on American automobiles.
- The announcement led to significant declines in global stock markets, with the S&P 500 dropping 3.3%, the Nasdaq Composite falling 4%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declining nearly 1,100 points. Asian and European markets also experienced substantial losses.
April 6, 2025: Congress reacts
- Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) introduced legislation requiring the President to notify Congress within 48 hours of imposing tariffs and obtain congressional approval within 60 days, reflecting growing bipartisan unease over the executive branch's tariff authority.
April 7, 2025: Further Advancements
- President Trump threatened an extra 50% tariff on Chinese goods if China did not withdraw its retaliatory tariffs by April 8, escalating tensions further.
- Analysts, including those from Goldman Sachs, warned that implementing the April 9 tariffs could increase the effective tariff rate by about 20 percentage points, potentially leading to a US recession.
- Major corporations and financial institutions expressed concern over the tariff escalations, however, many business leaders were hesitant to publicly oppose the administration's policies due to potential political backlash.
- Vietnam offered to eliminate tariffs on US imports completely, but White House trade advisor Peter Navarro said that the offer wasn't enough because “it's the non-tariff cheating that matters” — referring to Chinese products being routed through Vietnam before being imported to the US.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to be the first world leader to hold in-person talks with Trump about the tariffs, and officials told the WSJ that more than 50 countries had reached out to start negotiations.
- The Chinese Communist Party’s flagship newspaper said that policymakers were prepared to cope with US tariffs by using policy tools like monetary and fiscal easing.
Did I miss anything? Honestly it's hard to keep up with tariff related news, but I do my best to provide an unbiased recap of what's going on as major advancements happen.