Trump unveils ‘reciprocal’, blanket tariffs on all major US trading partners

“I have decided, for purposes of fairness, that I will charge a reciprocal tariff, meaning whatever countries charge the United States of America, we will charge them no more, no less”, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office before signing a presidential order.

He added: “In other words, they charge us a tax or tariff, and we charge them the exact same tax or tariff. Very simple”, noting that the exact number would not be clear “unless you go by the individual country”.

“If you go to the individual country and you look at what they’re charging us, in almost all cases, they’re charging us vastly more than we charge them. But those days are over”, Trump vowed.

It was unclear whether the tariffs will take effect immediately. The US Trade Representative and the Commerce Department will be responsible for proposing new tariffs on a country-by-country basis to address trade deficits.