Washington (TDI): The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has announced reciprocal tariffs on around sixty countries, in a bid to regulate imports and boost domestic industries.
The White House published a list of countries on which the Trump administration has imposed reciprocal tariffs, on Wednesday. The list includes China, Canada, South Korea, India, Pakistan, Japan, the European Union, and many other countries.
According to the White House, the new reciprocal tariff rate of 34% on China will be added to the existing 20%, meaning the actual tariff rate on Beijing would now be 54% high. China has announced it will retaliate in response to these unfair tariffs.
A 20% tariff has been announced on goods from the European Union, 10% on imports from the United Kingdom. 24% on Japan, 32% on Taiwan, and 25% on South Korea.
26% tariff has been announced for India and 29% on Pakistan’s import products.
Ursula Von der Leyen, the EU Commissione,r responded to these tariffs saying, “The universal tariffs announced by the US are a major blow to businesses and consumers worldwide. Europe is prepared to respond.”
She further stated, “The consequences will be dire for millions of people around the globe.”
Responding to these tariffs, the Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney, said that he is in contact with the German Chancellor to devise a plan to enhance trade between Canada and Germany.
In my conversation with Chancellor Scholz this morning, we agreed to strengthen the diverse trade relationship between Canada and Germany.
As we face the crisis caused by President Trump’s tariffs, reliable trade partners are more important than ever.
— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) April 3, 2025
However, President Trump stated that the lack of reciprocity in the US bilateral trade relationship with other countries, disparate tariff rates, and US trading partners’ economic policies that suppress domestic wages and consumption, have resulted in the imposition of the latest reciprocal tariff rates.
He also said, “We subsidise a lot of countries and keep them going and keep them in business. Why are we doing this? I mean, at what point do we say you got to work for yourselves. This is why we have the big deficits. This is why we have that, amount of debt that’s been placed on our heads over the last number of years, and we’re really not taking it anymore.”
“In the face of unrelenting economic warfare, the United States can no longer continue with a policy of unilateral economic surrender… we have to take care of our people and we’re going to take care of our people first. And I’m sorry to say that.,” Trump added.
Read More: Trump’s Massive Tariffs Amp Up Global Trade War
President Trump said that the reciprocal tariffs are a response to barriers put on U.S. goods. “THE OPERATION IS OVER! THE PATIENT LIVED, AND IS HEALING,” he wrote on social media.
His administration believes that these tariffs would create manufacturing jobs at home and open up export markets abroad.
According to the Vice President of the United States, “We know a lot of Americans are worried… What I’d ask folks to appreciate here is that we are not going to fix things overnight.”
However, several economists have warned that the tariffs could reignite inflation, raise the risk of a recession and boost costs of living for the average US family by thousands of dollars.
Javaria Khalid is a Web Contributor at The Diplomatic Insight Magazine. She specializes in covering geopolitical developments, international relations, diplomatic, and socio-economic developments in Europe and Pakistan.
