WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday new tariffs on nearly all countries, marking the highest import taxes since the 1800s and triggering fears of a global economic recession.
Speaking in the Rose Garden, Trump announced a baseline 10% tariff on U.S. imports. Additionally, he also revealed tariffs on Europe, Japan and China as well as others.
“Taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years,” he said. “But it is not going to happen anymore.”
In what the President called “Liberation Day”, he declared a national economic emergency to impose the tariffs. While Trump says his tariffs will return jobs to the United States as a result of the taxes, he risks the U.S. economy as both consumers and businesses will see prices increase.
The White House claims the tariffs and other trade issues led to an $1.2 trillion imbalance last year.
The markets quickly responded by diving as Trump made his announcement. A baseline tariff rate of 10% on all countries goes into effect April 5.
The SPDR S&P Bank ETF (KBE) lost around 8%, while the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE) dove more than 9%. Both are on track to record their biggest one-day slides since the regional banking crisis in March 2023.
“The markets are going to boom. The stock is going to boom. The country is going to boom. And the rest of the world wants to see is there any way they can make a deal,” Trump said.
