Donald Trump “inaugurated” “Liberation Day” from the White House Rose Garden with sweeping tariffs, declaring that he would soon sign an executive order imposing “retaliatory tariffs” on countries around the world.
“April 2, 2025 will forever go down in history as the day American industry was reborn,” the American president stressed, adding: “For decades, our country has been plundered and raped by nations near and far” – whether allies or enemies.
Trump underlined the significance of his decision, calling it one of the most defining moments in the history of the United States. “They do it to us, we do it to them. It can’t get any simpler than that,” he said. “With this decision, we will make America great again,” he added, while not hesitating to herald a “golden era” for the country under his new trade policy.
New wave of tariffs
In this context, Trump announced a new wave of tariffs, describing his decision as a “declaration of our economic independence”.
The US president said that the revenue from the tariffs would be used to reduce taxes and pay down the national debt. “We will use this money to reduce our taxes and pay down our national debt”, he stressed. Referring to international trade, he argued that “sometimes, a friend is worse than an enemy”.
He cited South Korea and Japan as examples, saying that over 80% of cars manufactured in South Korea are sold in the country itself, while in Japan this figure exceeds 90%. At the same time, cars manufactured in the US represent only a small fraction of sales in these markets. “Ford sells very little overseas,” Trump said, stressing that the lack of a level playing field had “decimated” American industries. “That’s why, starting at midnight, we will be imposing a 25% tariff on all cars made abroad,” he announced…
“What they charge us, we’ll charge them”
Trump then announced that the United States would proceed with the implementation of “retaliatory tariffs” on all countries, imposing tariffs that would correspond to about half of the charges that other countries impose on American exports. To support his words, the American president presented a diagram to the audience, which showed that China imposes tariffs of 67% on American imports. “Since they charge us that much, we will charge them 34%,” he emphasized. The same chart also listed the new tariffs that Washington plans to impose on other jurisdictions:
Trump argued that this policy would ensure a level playing field for American industry and prevent the United States from being exploited by foreign economies.
“We want to export our products, but they don’t give us anything in return”
Previously, Donald Trump launched a scathing attack on US trading partners, accusing them of policies that, as he claimed, hurt the American economy and served only their own interests.
“We want to send our cars, export our products everywhere, but they don’t give us anything in return,” he said indignantly, referring to the restrictions facing American exports. Trump pointed out that European countries continue to block American poultry, while Australia stubbornly refuses to buy American beef.
“They don’t want a pound of our beef. They’re rejecting it because they don’t want to hurt their own farmers,” he said sarcastically. He then turned his attention to Japan, South Korea and China, accusing them of blocking the import of American rice, thereby strengthening their own markets at the expense of the United States.
Reiterating the slogan “America First”, the US president sent a strong message that his country would not remain inactive in the face of such trade practices. “The United States cannot continue to operate unilaterally to their detriment. It is time to protect our own economy, support our people and secure the future of American workers,” he stressed.
With this stance, Trump once again demonstrated his intention to adopt a more aggressive trade policy, prioritizing the protection of American industries and the reduction of US trade deficits.
EU’s first reaction to Trump tariffs – Von der Leyen: Ready to retaliate
The tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump are a “major blow” to the global economy, said the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, underlining that the EU is preparing its retaliation, which will come into force if negotiations with the US fail.
“We are already finalizing the first package of countermeasures in response to the steel tariffs.
And now we are preparing further countermeasures to protect our interests and our businesses if negotiations fail,” said Von der Leyen.
As she argued, the consequences of these tariffs will be very serious for millions of people around the world.
“The global economy will suffer massively, uncertainty will increase and it will fuel the rise of further protectionism,” the Commission chief stressed, underlining that at the same time the global trading system is facing serious shortcomings.
“I agree with President Trump that others are abusing the existing rules and I am ready to support any effort to make the global trading system fit for the realities of the global economy. But I also want to be clear.
Imposing tariffs as a first and last resort will not fix this. “This is why we have always been ready to negotiate with the United States from the beginning to remove the remaining obstacles to transatlantic trade,” Von der Leyen said, stressing that the EU is already preparing further packages of measures to defend its interests, while assuring that the EU will demonstrate a united stance and insisting that the Union is the strength of its member states.
China on Trump tariffs: Cancel them immediately…
China is calling on the US to immediately cancel the tariffs announced a few hours ago by President Trump, which is asking the American side to proceed with an equal dialogue as, as Beijing claims, these measures endanger global economic growth.
“China urges the US to immediately cancel its unilateral customs duties and properly resolve its differences with its trading partners through equal dialogue,” the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in a statement, stressing that the measures announced by Donald Trump “endanger global economic growth.”
