President Donald Trump announced plans for sweeping tariffs Wednesday , saying “our country has been looted, pillaged, raped, plundered” by other nations.
The aggressive rhetoric came as Trump showed a willingness to dismantle a global economic system that the United States helped to build after World War II. Trump held up a chart while speaking, showing the United States would charge a 34% tax on imports from China, a 20% tax on imports from the European Union, 25% on South Korea, 24% on Japan and 32% on Taiwan.
“Taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years,” Trump said in remarks at the White House. “But it is not going to happen anymore.”
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Trump suggests that US income tax, and moving away from tariffs, helped fuel the Great Depression Trump used his tariff speech to again champion the Gilded Age.
As he has repeatedly since starting his second term, Trump suggested that the U.S. was at its wealthiest when it was a “tariff nation” between 1870 and 1913.
He added that “for reasons unknown to mankind,” the U.S. went to income tax in 1913.
Trump suggested that the 1930s’ Great Depression was fueled by the U.S. going to an income tax and away from tariffs.
Economists and historians say the U.S. did grow between 1870 and 1913, but that was mostly due to immigration and was wracked by inequality.
Full list of Trump’s reciprocal tariffs This is the full list of reciprocal tariffs that Trump announced:
1. China: 34%
2. European Union: 20%
3. South Korea: 25%
4. India: 26%
5. Vietnam: 46%
6. Taiwan: 32%
7. Japan: 24%
8. Thailand: 36%
9. Switzerland: 31%
10. Indonesia: 32%
11. Malaysia: 24%
12. Cambodia: 49%
13. United Kingdom: 10%
14. South Africa: 30%
15. Brazil: 10%
16. Bangladesh: 37%
17. Singapore: 10%
18. Israel: 17%
19. Philippines: 17%
20. Chile: 10%
21. Australia: 10%
22. Pakistan: 29%
23. Turkey: 10%
24. Sri Lanka: 44%
25. Colombia: 10%
Trump turns to retired auto worker who spoke at GOP convention Trump invited Brian Pannebecker, a retired autoworker who spoke at the Republican National Convention to speak briefly at his White House news conference on tariffs.
“My entire life I have watched plant after plant after plant close,” Pannebecker said.
Pannebecker, a Michigan resident, is the founder of Auto Workers for Trump. The influential union United Auto Workers endorsed Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 election but has backed Trump’s plans to boost tariffs on imported vehicles.
Trump: ‘This is one of the most important days’ in American history “It’s our declaration of economic independence,” Trump said in announcing a barrage of self-described “reciprocal” tariffs . “For years, hardworking American citizens were forced to sit on the sidelines as other nations got rich and powerful, much of it at our expense. But now it’s our turn to prosper.”
U.S. financial markets have been unsettled in anticipation of Trump’s tariff announcement. Trump insists the moves will strengthen the U.S. economy, even as many experts worry it could lead to higher prices for most American consumers.
Trump’s Cabinet is making a show of force at his White House event announcing new tariffs Among those in attendance include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin and Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence.
There’s a fair amount of pageantry at the Rose Garden event, with the president walking out to a backdrop of numerous American flags.
Trump announces the latest in a series of deals with a major law firm The newest one concerns Milbank LLP, which the White House says will dedicate at least $100 million in pro bono legal services to causes the Trump administration supports.
The firm also agreed to take on clients without regard to political affiliation and to engage in merit-based hiring and promotion decisions.
Trump’s executive orders over the last month have injected turmoil into the legal community. They’ve threatened firms with the suspensions of attorneys’ security clearances as well as the termination of federal contracts and restrictions on building access for firm employees.
Some firms, like Milbank, have reached preemptive deals with the White House to avert an order. Others, including WilmerHale, Perkins Coie and Jenner & Block, have challenged them in court.
Wall Street swings sharply in final hours of trading before Trump’s tariff announcement The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged in late trading Wednesday, but only after careening between an earlier loss of 1.1% and a later gain of 1.1%. It’s had a pattern this week of opening with sharp drops only to finish the day higher .
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 31 points, or 0.1%, with an hour remaining in trading, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.3% higher. Both also veered from sharply lower in the morning to sharply higher in the afternoon and then doubled back.
Elon Musk’s Tesla helped knock the market around after initially falling more than 6% following a report that it delivered fewer electric vehicles in the first three months of the year than it did in last year’s first quarter.
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