Wyatte Grantham-Philips, AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) – President Donald Trump has launched a tariff war with almost all of his American trading partners. And the end is invisible.
Many drastic new taxes on goods from other countries are already here – expected to take effect immediately on Wednesday. Trump has promised a higher fee for his latest and most serious obligations, which he calls “mutual” tariffs.
With so many front and rear tariff actions and threats, it can be difficult to track where things are. Here’s a summary of what you need to know.
The container-equipped truck will run through the logistic terminal in Leipzig, Germany on Monday, April 7, 2025 (Jan Woitas/DPA via AP)
Walk by the shelf displaying imported nuts from the US at Hema Supermarket in Beijing on Tuesday, April 8th, 2025 (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
On Thursday, April 3, 2025, a woman is shopping at a clothing market in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Labor labor on the production line of towels of fabric manufacturers in Huaan city, East Jiangsu province, China on Wednesday, April 2, 2025 (Chinatopix via AP)
People pass through an electronic board showing the trading index of Shanghai Stock Exchange at a Beijing brokerage on Tuesday, April 8, 2025 (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
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The container-equipped truck will run through the logistic terminal in Leipzig, Germany on Monday, April 7, 2025 (Jan Woitas/DPA via AP)
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What kind of customs duties will come into effect on Wednesday?
Trump announced his latest and most drastic tariffs on April 2nd. He was called “Liberation Day” as part of the “mutual” trade plan. In a fiery speech that other countries claimed “teared” the US over the years, Trump declared that the US would now tax almost all of its trading partners at a minimum of 10%, and that it was charging a steep fee on countries that say it would operate a trade surplus with the US.
The 10% baseline was already in effect on Saturday. And when the clock hits midnight Wednesday, import tax rates on dozens of Trump’s countries and territories rise. In other words, as long as it doesn’t change to 11 hours.
The steep tax has reached 50%. There are the biggest rate landings in small economies that are barely traded with the United States, including the Kingdom of Lesotho in Africa. Other tax rates include 47% on imports from Madagascar, 46% in Vietnam, 32% in Taiwan, 25% in South Korea, 24% in Japan and 20% in European Union.
Economists warn that taxation will raise the price of goods consumers purchase daily, especially as these new tariffs are built on some of the previous trade measures. Last week, Trump announced a 34% tariff on China. For example, it will be announced in addition to the 20% tax he imposed on the country earlier this year.
Since then, Trump has threatened to add another 50% collection to Chinese products in response to Beijing’s recent estimated retaliation. This will result in a total of 104% against China.
White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt said at a briefing Tuesday that Trump had not considered extending or delaying the coming rate rise.
“He hopes these tariffs will come into effect,” she said.
Are there more tariffs coming?
As part of a surge in measures, China said it would collect all US goods starting Thursday (a unique 34% tariff on all US goods that match Trump’s rates).
Trump quickly criticised China’s move, but China insists it “fight to the end” and takes measures against the United States to protect itself. On Tuesday, China’s Commerce Department called Trump’s threat to escalate tariffs “a mistake, as well as a mistake.”
The trade war between the US and China is nothing new. Both countries have exchanged a series of taxation in recent months. In addition to the tariffs imposed during Trump’s first term, many of them were preserved or added under former President Joe Biden.
China has taken the toughest approach ever, but some countries have shown they are evaluating their own response to Trump’s collection.
There may be more retaliation in the future, but others have shown some hope of negotiating. The head of the European Union’s executive committee is among those who offer mutual tariff reductions, but warns that counter measures are still optional.
Trump could also roll out more product-specific tariffs in the future. The president has previously threatened import taxes on goods such as copper, wood and pharmaceuticals. All of these are now exempt from Trump’s “mutual” collection.
What other import taxes are there already here?
Several tariffs are already in effect, including a 10% baseline tax on Trump on Saturday.
But before sweeping it out, Trump had rolled out several other tariffs targeting certain countries and products. For example, his 25% tariff on automobile imports began last Thursday. These taxes are set to expand to applicable automatic parts in the next few weeks until May 3rd.
Canada responded on Tuesday with a 25% collection of car imports from the US that are not complying with the 2020 US Mexico and Canada agreement. They are expected to come into effect on the same day as Trump’s higher tariffs on Wednesday.
And Trump’s expanded steel and aluminum tariffs came into effect last month. Currently, both metals are taxed at 25% overall, with an order to remove Trump’s steel exemption and increase the collection of aluminum from the 2018 import tax, which took effect on March 12th.
Beyond China’s taxation, Trump had previously targeted Mexico and Canada. Mexico and Canada escaped last week’s high interest rates, but Trump placed a 25% obligation on goods from both countries, and later partially stopped.
Meanwhile, USMCA compliant products can continue to be subject to US tax-free, according to the White House. Other imports are still collected at 25%, lowering the obligation for Potato and Canadian energy products.
However, once both countries meet Trump’s demands for immigration and drug trafficking, the White House said tariffs on non-USMCA-compliant imports would fall from 25% to 12%.
Original issue: April 8, 2025, 6:12pm EDT
