US President Trump announces reciprocal tariffs

On Wednesday (April 2, 2025), Trump announced reciprocal tariff rates for more than 180 countries, including members of the European Union. In its statement on the tariffs, the White House called them “the golden rule for our golden age” and “the American market is a privilege, not a right.”

Section 232

The new duties will apply to products not covered by Section 232, which was implemented on March 12, 2025. According to the statement, the 25% duties imposed under Section 232 are still in effect. Therefore, steel and aluminum products will continue to be subject to 25% duties under Section 232 and will not be affected by the new duties.

10% Basic Tariff

It was announced that a basic 10% tariff will be applied for each country and that this will be the minimum tax rate. This 10% tariff is scheduled to take effect on April 5th.

Here are some of the countries that will only be affected by the 10% tariff:

• United Kingdom
• Singapore
• Brazil
• Australia
• New Zealand
• Türkiye
• Chile
• Argentina
• El Salvador
• United Arab Emirates
• Saudi Arabia
• Colombia

“We will tax them half as much as they tax us”

“We will impose on them approximately half of the tax imposed on us,” Trump declared in a statement. He also added “So the tariffs will not be a complete counterpart.” He went on to note that all tariffs are “the combined rate of non-financial barriers and other forms of cheating.”

The country-specific tariffs will take effect from April 9 and are expected to be no more than 49%. The largest tax rate will be imposed on Cambodia, according to the statement.

25% tax on vehicles and vehicle parts

The White House stated “The 25% tariff will be applied to imported passenger vehicles  and light trucks, as well as key automobile parts, with processes to expand tariffs on additional parts if necessary."

Tariffs to be Applied to Countries

For Canada and Mexico, tariffs will not be applied in accordance with their joint agreement with the US (USMCA). The tariffs will be 25% on non-USMCA products and 10% on non-USMCA energy and potash. If the US changes its decision on fentanyl, a 12% tariff will be applied to non-USMCA products.

The tariffs imposed on the US and the tariffs the US will impose in response are as follows;