US President Donald Trump’s higher tariffs on imports from dozens of countries kicked in yesterday, raising the average US import duty to its highest in a century and leaving major trade partners such as Switzerland, Brazil and India hurriedly searching for a better deal.
The US Customs and Border Protection agency began collecting the higher tariffs of 10 per cent to 50pc at 12.01am EDT (0401 GMT) after weeks of suspense over Trump’s final tariff rates and frantic negotiations with countries seeking to lower them.
The leaders of Brazil and India vowed not to be cowed by Trump’s hardline bargaining position, even while their negotiators sought a reprieve from the highest tariff levels.
The new rates will test Trump’s strategy for shrinking US trade deficits without causing massive disruptions to global supply chains or provoking higher inflation and stiff retaliation from trading partners.
After unveiling his ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs in April, Trump has frequently modified his plans, slapping much higher rates on imports from some countries, including 50pc for goods from Brazil, 39pc from Switzerland, 35pc from Canada and 25pc from India. He announced on Wednesday a further 25pc tariff on Indian goods, to be implemented in 21 days over India’s purchases of Russian oil, on top of the 25pc already imposed.
“Billions of dollars, largely from countries that have taken advantage of the United States for many years, laughing all the way, will start flowing into the USA,” Trump said on Truth Social just ahead of the tariff deadline.
Tariffs are ultimately paid by companies importing the goods, and passed on in full or in part to consumers of end products.
Trump’s top trade negotiator, Jamieson Greer, said the US was working to reverse decades of policies that had weakened US manufacturing capacity and workforce, and that many other countries shared concerns about macroeconomic imbalances.
“The rules of international trade cannot be a suicide pact,” he wrote in a column published by the New York Times.
“By imposing tariffs to rebalance the trade deficit and negotiating significant reforms that form the basis of a new international system, the United States has shown bold leadership,” Greer said.
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