April 2 (UPI) — President Donald Trump announced tariffs on global trade partners during a White House Rose Garden event dubbed “Make America Wealthy Again” Wednesday afternoon.
Trump announced 10% tariffs for all nations that export goods to the United States and more punitive reciprocal tariffs for nations that impose tariffs and other trade barriers on U.S.-produced goods.
“Foreign scavengers have torn apart the once beautiful American dream,” Trump told event attendees.
“Our country and taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years,” Trump said. “It’s not going to happen anymore.”
The United States is imposing reciprocal tariffs on nations around the world, but the level of tariffs for most is equal to about half of what Trump said the respective nations impose on U.S. goods.
While the U.S. greatly reduced or eliminated trade barriers for other nations in the past, he said many nations imposed tariffs and created non-monetary barriers, including manipulating currencies.
Many nations also have stolen intellectual property from U.S. firms and created “pollution havens” while pointing fingers at the United States and demanding payment to offset the costs of “climate change,” Trump said.
Past presidents blamed for trade imbalance
“This all happened with no response from the United States of America,” Trump said, adding that he doesn’t blame other nation’s for imposing trade barriers on U.S. goods.
Instead, he blamed past presidents for allowing it to happen without doing anything to discourage such actions and said the tariffs have “decimated the U.S. industrial base” and “sidelined” many U.S. workers.
He cited examples that include Thailand imposing 75% and higher tariffs on U.S.-made motorcycles vs. a 2.4% U.S. tariff on motorcycles made in Thailand.
Canada imposes an up-to 300% tariff on U.S. dairy products, and Australia bans the sale of U.S. beef there while the United States in 2024 imported about $3 billion worth of Australian beef.
“It’s not fair to our farmers. It’s not fair to our country,” Trump said. “This is why we have the big deficits and why we have the amount of debt placed on us.”
He cited China charging 65%, South Korea up to 513% and Japan up to 700% tariffs on U.S.-grown rice.
“Who can blame them?” Trump asked.
He announced tariffs on other nations that in most cases are equal to about 50% of the amount of tariffs and other trade barriers placed on U.S. goods.
Other nations benefit from tariffs
“If tariffs and trade barriers made countries poor, they would race to eliminate them,” Trump said. “China would be the first.”
He said China and other nation’s benefit greatly from tariffs and the United States will, too.
“We’re going to start being smart and being wealthy again,” Trump said. “We could be so much wealthier than any other nation.”
He also said the nation will not continue funding the defense for other nations.
“We need to take care of our people first,” Trump said. “We are standing up for the American worker and putting America first.”
He said the Biden administration recorded a $1.2 trillion trade deficit and the North American Free Trade Agreement caused the loss of 90,000 U.S. factories and 5 million manufacturing jobs.
It also caused a $19 trillion trade deficit, which Trump called the “worst trade deal ever made.”
He said a single shipyard in China produces more vessels every year than the combined output of all of the shipyards in the United States.
The United States has to import antibiotics, computers, phone, televisions and electronics that it used to produce domestically, Trump said.
Tariffs take effect on Thursday
“For these reasons, starting tomorrow, the United States will initiate reciprocal tariffs on other nations,” Trump said.
The tariffs will not be “full reciprocal” but include a 34% tariff on Chinese goods and 20% for goods made in the European Union.
Japan, India and South Korea will be charged tariffs of 24%, 26% and 25%, respectively.
Trump said the tariffs already have encouraged investment in U.S. production facilities by Apple, Nvidia, Johnson & Johnson, and other large firms.
Taiwan chip-maker TSMC announced plans to build a $200 billion chip-making facility in the United States, and many overseas automakers have announced plans to build new factories in the United States.
Prior Wednesday’s tariffs announcement, the Trump administration said evidence shows tariffs help the U.S. economy instead of harming it.
“Despite the rhetoric from politicians and the media, studies have repeatedly shown tariffs are an effective tool for achieving economic and strategic objectives — just as they did in President Trump’s first term,” a White House announcement issued on Wednesday says.
The announcement cites several recent studies, including those by the U.S. International Trade Commission and the Economic Policy Institute, that show tariffs imposed during Trump’s first term in office “strengthened the U.S. economy” and “led to significant re-shoring” in manufacturing, steel production and other industries, according to the White House.
The reports also suggest the tariffs reduced the amount of imports from China and stimulated domestic production of the affected goods with only a minor impact on consumer prices.
He already announced 25% tariffs on foreign-made vehicles and car parts, which are to take effect at midnight.
Political opposition to Trump tariffs
Although Trump says the tariffs will help the nation in the coming years, political opponents say the opposite will happen.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., in an online news release on Tuesday said Trump’s tariffs policy will cause a recession.
“Costs aren’t going down in America, they’re going up,” Jeffries said. “And the Trump tariffs are going to make things more costly in the United States of America.”
He said, “Republicans are crashing the American economy in real time and driving us to a recession.
“This is not Liberation Day. It’s Recession Day in the United States of America,” Jeffries said. “That’s what the Trump tariffs are going to do — crash the economy.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., likewise said Trump’s tariffs will harm consumers.
He said upstate New York families annually will pay $6,500 more for gas, groceries, cars and common goods.
More than 150,000 New Yorkers also might have their jobs impacted by the tariffs, Schumer said.
He called Trump’s tariffs policy a “gut punch to Upstate New York’s economy.”
“Trump’s tariff war has already created chaos, and the economic uncertainty is causing the stock market to fall, hurting seniors’ retirements, cratering consumer confidence, and jeopardizing the jobs of thousands of New Yorkers,” Schumer said.
“If this tariff war continues, it could devastate Upstate New York’s economy in ways we haven’t seen since the height of the pandemic.”
