WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has imposed 29 percent reciprocal tariff on Pakistan, besides over 185 countries and territories, saying that Islamabad charges 58 percent tariff on goods imported from the United States.
As per details, President Donald Trump has unveiled plans for sweeping new import taxes on all goods entering the US, in a watershed moment for global trade.
As per new US trade policy, the United States will impose 26 percent on India, 34 percent on China, 20 percent on European Union, 10 percent tariff on Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Afghanistan.
Trump sparks trade war with sweeping global tariffs
Speaking from the White House Rose Garden, Trump explained that the tariffs are calculated by factoring in existing tariff rates and non-monetary barriers, such as currency manipulation.
Donald Trump said that his country will impose 37 percent tariff on Bangladesh, 24 percent on Japan, 17 percent on Israel and 10 percent on the United Kingdom, adding and 25 percent additional tax will be imposed on the import of vehicles.
Canada and Mexico remain subject to a 25% tariff, with exemptions for goods under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). “The tariffs will not be fully reciprocal. I could have done that, I guess. But it would have been tough for a lot of countries,” Trump said.
Following are the highlights of Trump’s remarks:
“In many cases, the friend is worse than the foe in terms of trade,” Trump said.
“We subsidize a lot of countries and keep them going and keep them in business,” Trump said about trade partners, specifically Mexico and Canada.
“Why are we doing this? I mean, at what point do we say you got to work for yourselves.”
“We are finally putting America first,” Trump said.
“Trade deficits are no longer merely an economic problem. They are a national emergency,” Trump said.
Trump held up a board showing the new rates charged on most countries. Rates ranged from 10% to 49% on the first board and up to 50% on later boards.
With a few exceptions, based on the charts Trump read out, the tariff rate being imposed by the US on most countries was around half of what those countries charged. There were some exceptions in which the US charged the exact rates that those countries charged, according to the chart. “This is not full reciprocal, it is kind reciprocal,” Trump said.
In charts posted on social media, the White House shows the effective tariff rates they claim other countries impose on American goods, including by “currency manipulation and trade barriers.”
An adjacent column shows the new tariff rates the US will impose on each country or territory, including the European Union. The reciprocal rates are not necessarily the only US tariffs these countries will face.
South Asian countries facing tariffs are: Pakistan – 29%; India – 26%; Bangladesh – 37%; Sri Lanka – 44%; Nepal – 10%; Bhutan – 10%; Maldives – 10%; and Afghanistan – 10%.
Global tariff rates: The highest tariffs are imposed on Lesotho (50%), Saint Pierre and Miquelon (50%), and Cambodia (49%), while European Union nations face a 20% tariff. Some of the other key rates include: China – 34%; South Korea – 25%; Japan – 24%; European Union – 20%; United Kingdom – 10%; Brazil – 10%; Saudi Arabia – 10%; and Turkey – 10%.
The announcement triggered immediate anger, with China warning the tariffs could “endanger” global economic development, US ally Australia blasting them as “not the act of a friend,” and threats of retaliation from around the world.
Stock markets looked set for major volatility Thursday, with Tokyo’s Nikkei leading an Asian selloff, collapsing more than four percent. US futures plummeted and safe haven gold hit a new record as investors took fright.
Trump reserved some of the heaviest blows for what he called “nations that treat us badly.”
That included an additional 34 percent on goods from superpower rival China - bringing the new added tariff rate there to 54 percent.
Beijing swiftly vowed countermeasures and called for dialogue, warning the levies would “seriously harm” those involved.
“There is no winner in a trade war, and there is no way out for protectionism,” its commerce ministry said.
The figure for the European Union was 20 percent, and 24 percent on Japan, whose trade minister called the tariffs “extremely regrettable.”
For the rest, Trump said he would impose a “baseline” tariff of 10 percent, including another key ally, Britain. The 78-year-old Republican brushed off fears of turmoil, insisting that the tariffs would restore the US economy to a lost “Golden Age.”
“For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike,” Trump said.
A handpicked audience of cabinet members, as well as workers in hard hats from industries including steel, oil and gas, whooped and cheered as Trump promised tariffs would “make America wealthy again.”
Sweeping auto tariffs of 25 percent that Trump announced last week were due to take effect at 12:01 am (0401 GMT) Thursday.
Trump labelled Wednesday’s tariffs “reciprocal” but many experts say his administration’s estimates for levies placed on US imports by other countries are wildly exaggerated.
The US president had telegraphed the move for weeks, sparking fears of a recession at home as costs are passed on to US consumers, and a damaging trade war abroad.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned against countermeasures, saying on Fox News: “If you retaliate, there will be escalation.”
Some of the worst hit trading partners were in Asia, including 49 percent for Cambodia, 46 percent for Vietnam and 44 percent for military-ruled Myanmar, recently hit by a devastating earthquake.
Russia was not affected because it is already facing sanctions over the Ukraine war “which preclude any meaningful trade,” a White House official said.
Certain goods like copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, lumber and gold will not be subject to the tariffs, according to the White House.
They will also reinforce fears that Trump is backing further away from US allies towards a new order based on his vision of American supremacy. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday said the tariffs were “totally unwarranted.”
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a close Trump ally, said the levies on the EU were “wrong” but pledged to seek a deal. Britain escaped relatively lightly after a diplomatic offensive, but said it still wanted to “mitigate” the tariffs.
Canada and Mexico are not affected by the new levies as Trump has already punished them for what he says is their failure to stymie drug trafficking and illegal immigration. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney vowed to “fight” the existing levies.
Trump’s announcement is the culmination of a long love affair with tariffs, which he has seen for decades as a cure-all for America’s trade imbalances and economic ills.
The countries hit by Trump tariff include: Lesotho: 50 percent; Saint Pierre and Miquelon: 50 percent; Cambodia: 49 percent; Laos: 48 percent; Madagascar: 47 percent; Vietnam: 46 percent tariff; Myanmar: 44 percent; Sri Lanka: 44 percent; Falkland Islands: 41 percent; Syria: 41 percent; Mauritius: 40 percent; Iraq: 39 percent; Guyana: 38 percent; Botswana: 37 percent; Bangladesh: 37 percent; Réunion: 37 percent; Serbia: 37 percent; Liechtenstein: 37 percent; Thailand: 36 percent tariff; Bosnia and Herzegovina: 35 percent; China: 34 percent tariff; North Macedonia: 33 percent; Fiji: 32 percent; Taiwan: 32 percent tariff; Indonesia: 32 percent; Angola: 32 percent; Switzerland: 31 percent; Moldova: 31 percent; Libya: 31 percent; Algeria: 30 percent; Nauru: 30 percent; Norfolk Island: 29 percent; Pakistan: 29 percent; Tunisia: 28 percent; Kazakhstan: 27 percent; India: 26 percent tariff; South Korea: 25 percent tariff; Brunei: 24 percent; Japan: 24 percent tariff; Malaysia: 24 percent; Vanuatu: 22 percent; Ivory Coast: 21 percent; Namibia: 21 percent; European Union: 20 percent tariff; Jordan: 20 percent; Zimbabwe: 18 percent; Nicaragua: 18 percent; Israel: 17 percent; Philippines: 17 percent; Zambia: 17 percent; Malawi: 17 percent; Mozambique: 16 percent; Norway: 15 percent; Venezuela: 15 percent; Nigeria: 14 percent; Chad: 13 percent; Equatorial Guinea: 13 percent; Democratic Republic of the Congo: 11 percent; Cameroon: 11 percent; United Kingdom: 10 percent; South Africa: 10 percent; Brazil: 10 percent; Singapore: 10 percent; Chile: 10 percent; Australia: 10 percent; Turkey: 10 percent; Colombia: 10 percent; Peru: 10 percent; Costa Rica: 10 percent; Dominican Republic: 10 percent; United Arab Emirates: 10 percent; New Zealand: 10 percent; Argentina: 10 percent; Ecuador: 10 percent; Guatemala: 10 percent; Honduras: 10 percent; Egypt: 10 percent; Saudi Arabia: 10 percent; Ukraine: 10 percent; Bahrain: 10 percent; Qatar: 10 percent; El Salvador: 10 percent; Trinidad and Tobago: 10 percent; Morocco: 10 percent; Uruguay: 10 percent; Bahamas: 10 percent; Iceland: 10 percent; Kenya: 10 percent; Haiti: 10 percent; Bolivia: 10 percent; Panama: 10 percent; Ethiopia: 10 percent; Ghana: 10 percent; Jamaica: 10 percent; Paraguay: 10 percent; Lebanon: 10 percent; Tanzania: 10 percent; Georgia: 10 percent; Senegal: 10 percent; Azerbaijan: 10 percent; Uganda: 10 percent; Albania: 10 percent; Armenia: 10 percent; Nepal: 10 percent; Sint Maarten: 10 percent; Gabon: 10 percent; Kuwait: 10 percent; Togo: 10 percent; Suriname: 10 percent; Belize: 10 percent; Papua New Guinea: 10 percent; Liberia: 10 percent; British Virgin Islands: 10 percent; Afghanistan: 10 percent; Benin: 10 percent; Barbados: 10 percent; Monaco: 10 percent; Uzbekistan: 10 percent; Republic of the Congo: 10 percent; Djibouti: 10 percent; French Polynesia: 10 percent; Cayman Islands: 10 percent; Kosovo: 10 percent; Curaçao: 10 percent; Rwanda: 10.
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