Trump Tariff Highlights: Trump claims US in ‘driver’s seat’ after tariff announcements, says ‘now they will do anything for us’

Trump has said earlier that the companies that want to avoid the tariffs should think about doing their business in the US. However, that’s not something that’s going to be easy considering the high costs of setting up factories in the US and hiring staff.

If the White House starts to levy the taxes immediately, US firms will have no choice but to bear the brunt of the costs. If the tariffs announced are high, then the companies will find ways to lower their costs by either changing their supplier or pushing partners to share the financial burden, a BBC report said.

Ahead of Trump’s announcement of the reciprocal tariffs today, 3 significant reports were released by the United States Trade Representative (USTR), the Department of Commerce, and the Treasury Department. These reports primarily give insights into the trade policy direction that the administration might take.

Key Points:

– The initial tariffs are expected to target countries with which the US has major trade deficits, especially those with existing trade agreements.

– The administration is considering three primary strategies:​

Universal Tariff: A 20% tariff applied to all imports.​

Reciprocal Tariffs: Country-specific tariffs based on trade balances.​

Targeted Tariffs: Focused tariffs on specific nations or sectors. ​

It’s not clear weather these measures will be temporary or for the long run.

India has agreed to the Terms of Reference (ToR) for a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) with the United States after intervention from the Prime Minister’s Office. A senior government official told The Indian Express that the PMO is eager to seal the deal quickly.​

The ToR was still pending as of Saturday when US negotiators concluded four days of talks in India. Both sides are now prepared for formal negotiations, during which India is expected to reduce tariffs on American goods in exchange for concessions from the US, according to the official.​

Anger over the Trump administration’s tariffs and statements might cause more people to avoid traveling to the US than expected, a leading travel forecasting company said on Tuesday, reported the Associated Press. Tourism Economics now predicts that the number of international visitors to the US will drop by 9.4% this year, which is almost double the 5% decline the company predicted in February.

You must have heard the term ‘dirty 15’ from the officials of Trump administration, and if you’re wondering what it means, here’s your answer.

Although the White House has not been clear about which countries will have to face the reciprocal tariffs after today, the administration officials have been mentioning the term “dirty 15” which refers to the countries that US claims are charging high tariffs on American goods and run large trade deficits with the US.

These are the surcharge that are either matching or accounting for the levies that other countries impose on American goods. Once Trump had taken office, he had said that these reciprocal tariffs would vary country by country.

The surcharge that the US government applies on goods that are imported from other countries is known as tariff. It has everything to do with trade and supply chains and working on building cost along the way. These tariffs will be paid by the countries that send their goods to the US. The cost of these tariffs can change and fluctuate depending on how the other countries feel about them.

In addition to the tariffs that were imposed on aluminium, steel and other imports earlier, fresh tariffs on automobiles will also come into effect from Thursday. These will be an add on to the reciprocal tariffs that US President Donald Trump will be announcing today.

Israel has cancelled all custom duties – tariffs on US products at the directive of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The amendment to the trade levies came into effect after getting a nod from the Knesset Finance Committee and the Economy and Industry Minister.

Ahead of the tariff announcements, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his opponent Liberal Party leader Peter Dutton, have both promised to protect their country’s national interests, as per a Reuters report. Australia has a trade surplus with the United States and a free trade agreement that lets US exports enter Australia without tariffs. Albanese has said that he will not retaliate against the tariffs. During the election campaign, Albanese on Wednesday said that he would would not back down on the regulations the US is expected to target.

There has been no confirmation regarding which countries exactly will have to face these reciprocal tariffs that are to be announced today on Liberation Day. However, Trump had on Sunday said that the tariffs could be applied to “all countries”. So it’s still unclear if tariffs will be announced against all countries or a few selected ones.

A BBC report said that US Trade Representative’s office, while preparing recommendations, had identified the countries it was “particularly interested” in. These countries include India, Canada, China, the European Union, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the UK, and Vietnam.

Trump will make the announcement on reciprocal tariffs at the Rose Garden in the White House. The announcement will be made at 4:00 pm Washington Time which as per Indian Standard Time is 1:30 am.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of US tariff announcements today. US President Donald Trump is set to announce the reciprocal tariffs against different countries on, what is being called as the ‘Liberation Day’. To get real-time information and news on all the events leading up to the tariffs announcements, we advise you to keep watching this space.