According to his plan, the tarrif rates are even higher for 60 countries or trading blocs that have a high trade deficit with the US. Auto tariffs are now in effect, CNN reported.
China, the second top exporter to the US behind Mexico, will now face a 54% tariff and has vowed to hit back. Canada and the EU, also top trade partners, are preparing countermeasures.
After-hours US stock markets fell sharply, as did Asian and European markets, after the tariff announcement. And gold hit a new record high as investors seek safer investments. Leading economists told CNN they feared the tariffs could lead to a global recession.
Stock markets in Europe fell Thursday after US President Donald Trump announced new tariffs on trading partners around the world.
The region’s benchmark Stoxx 600 index was trading 1.2% lower by 5 a.m. ET, while France’s CAC was 1.6% down. London’s FTSE 100 had fallen 1.2% by the same time and Germany’s DAX index was flat.
Trump’s announcement Wednesday included 20% tariffs on imports from the European Union. The EU is preparing countermeasures.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump unveiled global reciprocal tariffs during an event at the White House.
Following are highlights of Trump s remarks:
"In many cases, the friend is worse than the foe in terms of trade," Trump said.
"We subsidize a lot of countries and keep them going and keep them in business," Trump said about trade partners, specifically Mexico and Canada. "Why are we doing this? I mean, at what point do we say you got to work for yourselves."
"We are finally putting American first," Trump said.
"Trade deficits are no longer merely an economic problem. They are a national emergency," he said.
Trump held up a board showing the new rates charged on most countries. Rates ranged from 10% to 49% on the first board and up to 50% on later boards.
With a few exceptions, based on the charts Trump read out, the tariff rate being imposed by the U.S. on most countries was around half of what those countries charged. There were some exceptions in which the U.S. charged the exact rates that those countries charged, according to the chart.
