By Brendan Scanland
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Wednesday, sweeping reciprocal Tariffs were announced by President Donald Trump.
The highly anticipated day for Republicans has been dubbed “liberation day” by President Trump, but Democrats are less enthusiastic.
“This will be indeed the golden age of America. It’s coming back and we’re going to come back very strongly,” said President Trump at the “Make America Wealthy Again” event in the White House Rose Garden Wednesday afternoon.
According to a White House fact sheet, President Trump will impose individual reciprocal tariffs on countries which the United States has the largest trade deficits. All other countries will continue to be subjected to the original 10% tariff baseline.
Countries that are subjected to a discounted reciprocal tariff will see new tariffs at roughly half of what foreign countries currently have levied on the U.S. For example, President Trump said Japan, a close U.S. ally, charges 46%. The U.S. will now charge 24%, in return.
The President spent much of the event Wednesday afternoon talking about strengthening the economy by bringing jobs back to America.
“Jobs and factories will come roaring back into our country. And you see it happening already,” said Trump. “More production at home will mean stronger competition and lower prices for consumers.”
Republicans largely praised the tariffs and urged patience.
“What I think’s going to happen is that the tariffs, this huge tariff disparity that we have with these other countries is going to come down. They’re going to bring their tariffs down because they need the U.S. to be active trading partners,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson (R- LA).
Democrats say otherwise.
“The costs of groceries, the cost of prescription drugs, the cost of gasoline, the costs of buying a car, the costs of buying a house, the cost of furniture, the cost of clothing. Everything people buy is going to go up,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D- NY).
According to the White House, the 10% tariff on all countries will take effect April 5 at 12:01 am. The President’s higher, individualized reciprocal tariffs on countries the U.S. has the largest trade deficits, will take effect April 9 at 12:01 am.
President Trump has also already imposed 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports.
