WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he would impose a 10% baseline tariff on all imports to the United States and higher duties on some of the country’s biggest trading partners, in a move that ratchets up a trade war that he kicked off on his return to the White House.
The sweeping duties would erect new barriers around the world’s largest consumer economy, reversing decades of trade liberalization that have shaped the global order. Trading partners are expected to respond with countermeasures of their own that could lead to dramatically higher prices for everything from bicycles to wine.
“It’s our declaration of independence,” Trump said at an event in the White House Rose Garden.
Trump displayed a poster that listed reciprocal tariffs, including 34% on China and 20% on the European Union, as a response to duties put on U.S. goods.
Other details were not immediately apparent as Trump continued to make remarks that echoed his longstanding complaints that U.S. workers and companies are hurt by global trade.
The uncertainty has rattled financial markets and businesses that have relied on trading arrangements that have been in place since 1947.
The administration has said the new tariffs will take effect immediately after Trump announces them, though it has not yet published the official notice required for enforcement.
The administration, however, did publish an official notice that a separate set of tariffs on auto imports that Trump announced last week will take effect starting on April 3.
Trump has already imposed 20% duties on all imports from China and 25% duties on steel and aluminum and extended them to nearly $150 billion worth of downstream products.
His advisers say the tariffs will return strategically vital manufacturing capabilities to the United States.
Outside economists have warned that tariffs could slow the global economy, raise the risk of recession, and increase living costs for the average U.S. family by thousands of dollars. Businesses have complained that Trump’s barrage of threats has made it difficult to plan their operations.
Tariff concerns have already slowed manufacturing activity across the globe, while also spurring sales of autos and other imported products as consumers rush to make purchases before prices rise.
Financial markets were volatile as investors awaited Trump’s announcement. U.S. stocks have erased nearly $5 trillion of value since February.
(Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Alistair Bell and Diane Craft)
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