New sweeping tariffs on goods imported by the United States took effect on April 9 under US President Donald Trump's new trade policy, which he said was aimed at revitalizing American manufacturing.
The higher import tax rates for dozens of countries and territories include a whopping 104 percent tariff on Chinese goods and 20 percent on products from the European Union. The new tariffs come on top of a base tariff of 10 percent that went into effect on April 5.
White House spokeswoman Caroline Levitt said Trump was not considering extending or delaying the increase.
"She expects these tariffs to go into effect," she said on April 8, hours before they were set to go into effect at midnight.
Trump himself has given mixed signals about whether the tariffs will remain in place. While he described them as "permanent," he said representatives from the targeted countries were on their way to Washington to negotiate bilateral trade agreements.
"We have a lot of countries coming in and wanting to make deals," he said at a White House event on April 8. He later said he expected China to seek an agreement as well.
The Trump administration has scheduled talks with representatives from South Korea and Japan, two close allies and major trading partners. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is scheduled to visit next week.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is among those offering reciprocal tariff reductions, but she has also warned that countermeasures remain an option. Trump announced the tariffs on April 2, calling it "America's Liberation Day" and saying it would be remembered "as the day American industry was reborn, the day American destiny was reclaimed, and the day we began to make America rich again."
The president voiced strong objections when announcing the tariffs that the United States had been bullied for decades by "friends and foes" on trade, creating a huge trade imbalance.
Stock markets around the world have fallen amid the imposition of tariffs, which economists warn will raise the prices of goods that American consumers buy every day, especially because the new tariffs build on some previous trade measures. The targeted countries are also likely to retaliate.
China has already retaliated, announcing a 34 percent tariff on all U.S. goods. That matched the rate before Trump announced that the United States would impose a 104 percent tariff on Chinese goods starting April 10.
China's Ministry of Commerce called Trump's threat to escalate tariffs "a mistake upon mistake" that "once again exposes the blackmailing nature of the US."
In addition to the tariffs on China, Trump imposed a hefty 25 percent tariff on auto imports starting April 3, targeting mostly cars made in Mexico and Canada to pressure them to take steps to control immigration and drug trafficking. The tariffs apply to vehicles imported as finished products but will be extended to corresponding auto parts in the coming weeks.
Canada has responded with a 25 percent tariff on imports of cars from the United States that do not comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Those tariffs are also set to take effect on April 9.
Steel and aluminum were also targeted. Both metals are now subject to a 25 percent tax under expanded tariffs that took effect last month. With reports from the AP and Reuters.
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