““I’ve been talking about it for 40 years, because I saw what was happening,” he said, referencing old interviews from when he was “young, very handsome.”
“I’d be talking about how we were being ripped off by these countries,” he continued. “I mean, nothing changes very much. The only thing to change was the countries, but nothing really changes.””
“The list of 185 places hit Wednesday with a minimum 10 percent tariff include Heard Island and the McDonald Islands, Australian territories in the vast Indian Ocean between Africa and Antarctica.
Also on the list are tiny Norfolk Island in the South Pacific and an uninhabited spot in the Arctic Ocean called Jan Mayen, part of a Norwegian territory with the islands of Svalbard near the North Pole.
It’s all led to some head-scratching around the world as leaders digest Trump’s effort to punish countries that he says have taken advantage of U.S. trade policy to steal American jobs.”
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“The country that received the most severe tariffs, Lesotho, is one that “nobody had ever heard of,” according to Trump. The White House list said the landlocked African kingdom has its own tariffs of 99 percent — and thus will face a 50 percent penalty from the U.S.”
“President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he will impose a baseline 10 percent tariff on imports from all countries in the coming days, with a higher tariff on dozens of other countries the United States believes have the most unfair trade relationships with the U.S.”
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“The tariffs that Trump detailed Wednesday mark the most significant U.S. protectionist trade action since the 1930s, when Congress imposed tariffs on more than 20,000 goods and dug the U.S. economy deeper into the Great Depression.”
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“The new duties include a 34 percent tariff on China, 26 percent on India, 25 percent on South Korea, 24 percent on Japan and 20 percent on the 27-nation European Union, whose largest members are Germany and France.
The administration also slapped a 46 percent tariff on Vietnam and a 49 percent tariff on Cambodia — a blow to China, which has shipped goods through those and other countries to effectively skirt previous rounds of U.S. tariffs imposed over the past seven years.
That comes on top of a second executive order Trump signed Wednesday eliminating the “de minimis loophole” for small-dollar packages worth under $800 from China and Taiwan, starting on May 2. The loophole has been used by Chinese companies like SHEIN and Temu to deliver billions in goods to the U.S.”
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“economists warn that the tariffs are almost certain to drive up prices for everyday goods imported from abroad — from fruits, vegetables and other food products to clothing, toys, cell phones, laptops, sporting equipment and countless other consumer products. The tariffs also will hit machinery and other manufactured goods, along with the raw materials and parts used to make things like cars and build houses in the United States.”
“Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada will impose “carefully calibrated and targeted counter tariffs” on the United States in response to President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs.
Carney said Canada will counter with 25 percent tariffs on all vehicles imported from the United States that are not compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement and on the non-Canadian content of USMCA-compliant vehicles from the United States.
But Carney said that unlike Trump’s tariffs, Canada’s countermeasures will not affect auto parts “because we know the benefits of our integrated production system.” All other previously announced Canadian countermeasures to Trump’s previous threats will remain, Carney said.
Carney said Trump’s global reciprocal tariffs have ended 80 years of American global economic leadership that started after World War II.”
“Americans are tapping the brakes on spending – pulling back on dining out, hotel stays and other expenses, as they boost their savings ahead of new tariffs and continued economic uncertainty.”
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“Strikingly, economists say Americans of all income levels, including the wealthiest, are rethinking their spending – in what could be a pivotal warning. The drop-off in consumer spending is expected to drag down economic growth in the first three months of the year, with many economists now forecasting a contraction after years of consistent growth.”
“The “Buy Canadian” movement is sending new ripples of concern through the executive offices of U.S.-based consumer companies that banked on selling their products on Canadian retail shelves.”
“Canada’s traditional relationship with the United States is over, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday in response to President Donald Trump’s potentially crippling auto tariffs.”
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” “The old relationship we had with the United States, based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation, is over,” Carney said on Parliament Hill after breaking from the federal campaign trail on Wednesday night in the face of Trump’s latest threats.
“We must fundamentally reimagine our economy. We will need to ensure that Canada can succeed in a drastically different world.”
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“Ford said he also spoke to Carney and they agreed Canada would follow through on its full tariff retaliation, if necessary. Ottawa has said it would be ready to respond with up to C$155 billion in retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products.”
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“Mexico, Canada and South Korea have duty-free access to the U.S. auto market under the terms of free trade agreements that Trump renegotiated during his first term in office.”
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“The United States imported $214 billion worth of passenger cars in 2024, according to U.S. Commerce Department data. Trump said the U.S. would start collecting the new duties on cars and light trucks on April 3”
“the White House is reportedly confronting a very different reality: one in which Trump’s trade war leaves many Americans worse off, with farmers likely to be hit the hardest.”
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“Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told reporters last week that the White House has asked her to “have some programs in place that would potentially mitigate any economic catastrophes that could happen to some of our farmers” as a result of a trade war.”
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“The time to work that out might be running short. Trump has promised to ramp up his trade war with Mexico and Canada in early April, and the administration also plans to start slapping so-called “reciprocal tariffs” on imports from other countries on April 2. As the various trade wars escalate, farmers are likely to be on the front lines—because American agricultural exports are an easy target for retaliatory tariffs from other countries.”
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“That’s exactly what happened during Trump’s first term, when his trade war with China caused American farmers to lose a sizable chunk of one of their largest export markets. When farmers complained about it, the Trump administration provided a $28 billion bailout via a New Deal–era program at the Department of Agriculture.
Some of that is already happening. In response to tariffs imposed by Trump in February, China slapped new tariffs on a wide range of American farm exports, including beef, chicken, corn, cotton, dairy, fruits, pork, soybeans, and various vegetables. Both Canada and Mexico have indicated that they plan to retaliate against American tariffs with new levies targeting American agricultural goods.”
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“That’s the nasty thing about trade wars. Not only do they harm manufacturers and consumers seeking to buy raw materials and finished goods from abroad, but they also harm domestic producers (like farmers) who lose access to foreign markets and therefore earn less money. Tariffs hurt Americans who want to eat avocados from Mexico, and Americans growing soybeans to sell there. There are a lot more losers than winners—and that’s before taxpayers get put on the hook for bailouts.
There should be no taxpayer-funded bailouts for American farmers who get burned by Trump’s trade wars. If the White House is concerned about the consequences that higher tariffs will have on American agriculture, there is an easy solution: Don’t impose them.”
“In a near party-line vote.., the House of Representatives blocked the most direct pathway for lawmakers to revoke the emergency executive powers Trump used last month to impose tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico, and China. That change helps further cement executive control over trade policy and creates additional challenges for lawmakers seeking to claw back some control over tariff decisions.”