President Donald Trump delivered a highly anticipated speech from the White House Rose Garden on Wednesday outlining his plan to impose sweeping tariffs on U.S. trade partners.
Trump’s plan purportedly calls for a baseline 10 percent tariff to be imposed on all U.S. imports except those compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
Certain countries will face much higher tariffs, with Trump saying his “reciprocal tariff” plan calls for countries to be charged “approximately half of what they are and have been charging us.”
Trump unveiled a chart showing the tariff rates that will be charged to specific countries, and countries like Cambodia, Laos, Madagascar and Vietnam are set to be charged nearly 50 percent.
A senior White House official told CNN the reciprocal tariffs will go into effect at 12:01 am ET on Wednesday, April 9th.
Trump argued his plan will “supercharge” the U.S. domestic industrial base, open foreign markets and break down foreign trade barriers.
“And ultimately more production at home will mean stronger competition and lower prices for consumers,” he added. “We’re gonna come back very strongly.”
Trump also confirmed previously announced 25 percent tariffs on U.S. auto imports will be imposed starting at 12:01 am ET on Thursday.
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