President Trump yesterday afternoon from the White House Rose Garden announced the imposition of reciprocal tariffs on imported goods from numerous countries worldwide, which will take effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on Thursday, April 3.
The president held up a chart outlining the countries of particular focus to the administration for the reciprocal tariffs, including China, EU, Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan, India, South Korea, Thailand, Switzerland, Indonesia, Malaysia, United Kingdom, South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, Singapore, Israel, Philippines, Chile, Australia, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. President Trump noted during his announcement that the tariffs, however, won’t be fully reciprocal. For example, China has an overall 67% tariff on U.S. imports, and the U.S. will respond with a 34% tariff, while the EU was noted to have a 39% average tariff on U.S. goods, and the U.S. reciprocal tariff will be 20%.
More details of the reciprocal tariffs are expected to be published shortly by the White House, as well as guidance from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regarding their implementation. GSM will provide pertinent updates regarding these reciprocal tariffs from the White House and CBP, as soon as they are received.
President Trump first announced his administration’s aim to impose reciprocal tariffs on Feb. 13. The goal of these tariffs, according to the White House, is to pressure other countries to either lower or eliminate their tariffs on U.S. goods. U.S. has one of the lowest average duty rates – 2.5% — on imported goods.
In addition, the White House published in the Federal Register its proclamation related to tariffs to be imposed on automobiles and their parts. The 25% tariffs for passenger vehicles and light trucks will begin at 12:01 a.m. ET on April 3, while the 25% tariffs for auto parts will take effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on May 3. The proclamation includes details on the subheadings that will apply to these imports.
On March 26, President Trump announced that his administration would be invoking Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to impose a 25% tariff on imports of automobiles and certain automobile parts.
