Donald Trump announced his long-teased tariffs today during a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden. Among other things, there will now be a 25% tariff on all cars made outside the U.S.
Trump just announced a 25% tariff on all cars made outside the U.S.
Last year, 46% of the 16 million vehicles sold in the U.S. were imported. pic.twitter.com/C8QNpFcxD9 — Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) April 2, 2025
More from the New York Times (gift link):
Trump says the United States will calculate a tariff rate for other countries based on tariffs and “other forms of cheating.” These tariff rates are quite high. He says China will face a 34 percent tariff, while the European Union will be 20 percent. Japan will be 24 percent and India 26 percent.
The president says he will charge the U.K. a 10 percent tariff. Even that is pretty remarkable, since the United States runs a trade surplus with Britain, it’s such a close ally and the country has been trying to negotiate a trade deal with the United States.
Trump says he will also establish a universal baseline tariff of 10 percent that will apply to all countries, in addition to the numbers he’s already announced.
Russia notably absent from Trump’s tariff attacks. pic.twitter.com/BHGB5Mfr1X
— Jay in Kyiv (@JayinKyiv) April 2, 2025
During his remarks, Trump declared grocery and other prices have come down due to his policies. But, in fact, inflation has gone up in the first weeks of his term, and economists almost universally predict tariffs will drive up prices even further. Interestingly, things have now gone from “everything is going to be cheaper under Trump” to “everything is going to be more expensive under Trump.” After his comments, Trump wandered off the stage forgetting to sign the executive order making the tariffs official.
Trump leaves the stage but is guided back to sign the executive orders pic.twitter.com/vhpxNNLBMa
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 2, 2025
Related: Study – Trump Tariffs Led To Higher Prices & Job Losses
You’ll note he timed the announcement to occur after stock markets had closed. After-market trading on the S&P 500 is down more than 1% at this writing. Predictably, the Donald also rambled on careening from topic to topic at random like ruminating on the idea that people don’t use the word “groceries.”
Trump: “An old fashioned term that we use — groceries. I used it on the campaign. It’s such an old fashioned term, but a beautiful term. Groceries. It says a bag with different things in it.”
[image or embed] — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) April 2, 2025 at 1:48 PM
For folks who aren’t super-clear on how tariffs work, here’s former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich explaining in easy to understand language:
Tariffs can be used as a tool to protect American industries.
But tariffs on their own do not magically create more American jobs or lead to more U.S. production.
Trump’s careless “Liberation Day” tariffs will result in a massive transfer of wealth to the very top. pic.twitter.com/bGblnsLKlo
— Robert Reich (@RBReich) April 1, 2025
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