US President Donald Trump has unveiled a series of "punitive" tariffs targeting countries around the world, including some of America's closest trading partners, risking a devastating trade war.
From the Rose Garden of the White House amid American flags, Trump imposed heavy tariffs on China and the European Union on the day he dubbed "Liberation Day."
The dollar dropped 1 percent against the euro and fell against other major currencies as Trump spoke.
"For decades, our country has been plundered, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, by friends and foes alike," Trump said.
He reserved some of the heaviest hits for "nations that treat us badly," including 34 percent for goods from rival China, 20 percent for key ally the European Union and 24 percent for Japan.
The 78-year-old Republican - who held up a table with a list of tariffs - said he was being "very kind" and therefore imposing only half the amount those countries tax U.S. exports.
For the rest, Trump said he would impose a "baseline" duty of 10%, including on Britain.
"This is Liberation Day," Trump said, adding that it "will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America's destiny was reclaimed."
The massive 25 percent tariffs on cars that Trump announced last week are also due to take effect at 12:01 a.m. (local time) on April 3.
Trump has been warning about the move for weeks, insisting the tariffs would protect the United States from being "looted" by other countries and spur a new "golden age" of American industry.
But many experts warned that the tariffs risked triggering a recession at home, as costs would be passed on to American consumers and spark a global trade war.
Markets remain volatile.
The tariffs also reinforce fears that Trump is pulling further away from U.S. allies toward a new order based on a vision of American superiority.
U.S. trading partners have vowed swift retaliation while trying to persuade Trump to reach agreements to avoid the tariffs in the first place.
On April 2, Germany warned that trade wars harm "both sides."
The European Union will react to Trump's new tariffs "before the end of April," a French government spokesman said.
The 27-nation bloc's initial salvo will counter U.S. action on steel and aluminum, followed by sector-by-sector measures.
British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, said "a trade war is in nobody's interests".
"We have prepared for all eventualities - and we will rule nothing out," he told parliament.
Trump has long had a love affair with tariffs, insisting in the face of experts that they are a panacea for America's trade imbalances and economic ills.
The billionaire insists the tariffs will lead to a "resurgence" of America's depleted manufacturing capacity, and says companies can avoid the duties by moving to the US.
But critics argue that U.S. businesses and consumers could bear the burden if importers pass on the costs, and add that the policy could increase the risk of a recession.
"If this trade war continues through Labor Day (Sept. 1), the U.S. economy is likely to suffer a recession this year," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics.
However, negotiations are likely to continue as the sides seek to halt tariffs.
However, Trump was previously persuaded to suspend tariffs on neighbors Canada and Mexico while trade talks continue.
He ordered ones on both on the grounds that they had failed to stem the flow of the deadly opioid fentanyl into the United States.
Declaring that the "national emergency" stemmed from security concerns over the persistent trade deficit, the White House announced that the "baseline" duty of 10 percent would begin to apply at 12:00 a.m. (local time) on April 5, while higher rates for various partners would begin to apply on April 9. | BGNES
