Standing in the White House Rose Garden, President Donald Trump declared what he called “Liberation Day”, announcing a raft of tariffs on U.S. trading partners — the most expansive use of trade powers in modern American history.
“Hard-working American citizens were forced to sit on the sidelines while other nations got rich… Now it’s our turn,” Trump said, holding up a chart of reciprocal levies targeting more than 60 countries.
A 10% baseline tariff on all U.S. imports takes effect this Saturday, with harsher, customised tariffs for countries with what the White House called “massive non-tariff barriers.”
White House documents list steep new tariffs, many of them on top of existing duties. Among the highest:
🇨🇳 China: 54%
🇻🇳 Vietnam: 46%
🇮🇳 India: 26%
🇹🇼 Taiwan: 32%
🇯🇵 Japan: 24%
🇰🇷 South Korea: 25%
🇪🇺 European Union: 20%
🇬🇧 United Kingdom: 10%
🇰🇭 Cambodia: 49%
Canada and Mexico are temporarily exempt from the new plan, as existing 25% tariffs tied to fentanyl and migration remain in place.
Steel, aluminium, auto parts, and pharmaceuticals already subject to tariffs will be exempt. So will energy, copper, semiconductors, and bullion not sourced domestically.
Inside Trump’s Cabinet, officials rallied around the policy.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called it “strong action to make America safe again.”
National Security Adviser Mike Waltz echoed Trump’s framing: “Economic security is national security.”
Speaker Mike Johnson said the U.S. “will not be exploited by unfair trade practices anymore.”
But Wall Street reacted less enthusiastically.
Nasdaq futures fell 2.5%
FTSE 100 slid 0.7%
Brent crude dropped 1% before stabilising
Gold hit a new record above $3,100/oz as investors fled to safety
Auto stocks slumped across the board — Ford, GM, Stellantis and Tesla all saw losses in after-hours trading.
British officials are portraying the 10% tariff on UK exports as “a good outcome” — relieved to have avoided the harsher penalties levied on the EU.
“Nobody wants a trade war,” said Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, who confirmed the UK would “keep calm, keep negotiating.”
“But nothing is off the table… we will act if needed.”
Trump’s strategy is a throwback to protectionist America — invoking pre-1913 tariff policies, and blaming the Great Depression on the abandonment of that model.
“We used to be a tariff-backed nation. We were the richest we’ve ever been,” Trump said.
“This isn’t full reciprocal. This is kind reciprocal.”
But economists warn that retaliation is coming, and fast.
“This is worse than we feared,” said Mary Lovely of the Peterson Institute.
“The consequences for global trade routes could be huge.”
The Peterson Institute and other analysts expect consumer prices to rise, particularly in electronics, food, textiles, and transport. Supply chains may fragment as nations reroute trade flows away from U.S. ports.
By invoking a national emergency and using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, Trump bypassed Congress and seized executive control over trade.
The move is both strategic and risky:
The economic pain could come fast.
The political gain, if any, could take years.
“We are being kind,” Trump said. “But if they want to lower their barriers, we’ll talk. If not, they’ll pay.”
Residents in Syria’s Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli have stepped up volunteer patrols amid growing pressure from the country’s Islamist-led gov...
Sanctions are a long-used tool designed as an alternative to military force and with the objective of changing governments’ behaviour, but they also...
Azerbaijan’s participation in the United States-backed Board of Peace reflects a clear calculation of national interest, according to Chingiz Mammad...
Millions of people in Britain are struggling to afford basic necessities, with a new report warning that the number living in the deepest levels of po...
A clock in a Tel Aviv square that became a rallying point for Israelis demanding the release of hostages taken during the October 2023 Hamas attack wa...
Residents in Syria’s Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli have stepped up volunteer patrols amid growing pressure from the country’s Islamist-led government, expressing deep mistrust of Damascus despite a fragile U.S.-backed ceasefire.
Sanctions are a long-used tool designed as an alternative to military force and with the objective of changing governments’ behaviour, but they also end up hurting civilian citizens.
Azerbaijan’s participation in the United States-backed Board of Peace reflects a clear calculation of national interest, according to Chingiz Mammadov, Research Alumni of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and the Woodrow Wilson International Center.
Turkish defence firm Aselsan announced on Monday that it had signed a deal with the NATO alliance, of which Türkiye is a longstanding member, for the supply of “Identification of Friend or Foe” (IFF) interrogator systems for use with Man-Portable Air Defense Systems, or MANPADS.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has activated the state’s National Guard following the fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen in Minneapolis, an incident that has triggered protests and intensified tensions between state and federal authorities.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry has strongly rejected a U.S. magazine report on the death toll during January unrest. Nationwide protests erupted in response to soaring inflation and a national currency crisis.
A mosaic portrait of Pope Leo XIV was illuminated on Sunday at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, continuing a centuries-old Vatican tradition marking the election of a new pope.
The death toll from nationwide protests in Iran has climbed to 6,126, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, often viewed as a bellwether for the complex diplomatic currents between the Kremlin and the West, has issued a startling prediction regarding the endgame of the war in Ukraine.
A federal judge in Minnesota has ordered Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd M. Lyons to appear in court on Friday and explain why he should not be held in contempt for failing to comply with multiple court orders, officials said.
Millions of people in Britain are struggling to afford basic necessities, with a new report warning that the number living in the deepest levels of poverty has reached a 30-year high, driven by soaring housing costs and rising child poverty.
India and the European Union have finalised a long-pending trade deal, both sides said on Tuesday, calling it the “mother of all deals” as they seek to hedge against uncertainty in U.S. trade ties.
The Trump administration has signalled to Ukraine that U.S. security guarantees depend on Kyiv agreeing to a peace deal likely requiring it to cede the Donbas region to Russia, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.
France’s National Assembly has approved a bill banning access to social media for children under 15, a move backed by President Emmanuel Macron and the government as part of efforts to protect teenagers’ mental and physical health.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment