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US President Donald Trump has unveiled his long-awaited “reciprocal” tariff plan, in a move that sent financial markets reeling amid growing fears of a global trade war.

On Wednesday, Trump announced a 10 percent “minimum baseline tariff” on nearly all imports into the United States. Higher duties on targeted countries will be phased in shortly afterwards.

He claimed the new import taxes were designed to reduce trade deficits and bring foreign manufacturing back to US shores. He also said they would pave the way for tax future cuts.

As Trump took aim at a global trading system he said “ripped off” the US, his tariffs prompted an immediate backlash, with some of America’s largest trading partners promising countermeasures.

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United States President Donald Trump didn’t announce any “reciprocal tariffs” on imports from Mexico on Wednesday, but a 25% tariff on Mexican canned beer is set to take effect on Friday.

During a speech in the Rose Garden of the White House, Trump presented a chart outlining  “reciprocal tariffs” on imports from a long list of countries, but Mexico wasn’t among them.

President Trump announces a minimum 10% tariff on all countries plus additional country-specific rates. pic.twitter.com/jM5272SSCm

— CSPAN (@cspan) April 2, 2025

In a fact sheet explaining the “reciprocal tariff” executive order the U.S. president signed on Wednesday, the White House said that Mexico and Canada are “unaffected by this order.”

“This means USMCA-compliant goods will continue to see a 0% tariff, non-USMCA compliant goods will see a 25% tariff, and non-USMCA-compliant energy and potash will see a 10% tariff,” the White House said.

“In the event the existing fentanyl/migration IEEPA [International Emergency Economic Powers Act] orders are terminated, USMCA-compliant goods would continue to receive preferential treatment, while non-USMCA-compliant goods would be subject to a 12% reciprocal tariff,” the fact sheet said.

On March 6, Trump announced that imports from Mexico covered by the USMCA free trade pact would not be subject to U.S. tariffs until at least early April. He had imposed a 25% tariff on all imports from Mexico and Canada two days earlier due to what the White House said was the two countries’ failure to take adequate action against “the influx of lethal drugs” to the U.S.

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U.S. President Donald Trump announced the range of reciprocal tariffs he is imposing against nearly 200 global trading partners, saying the U.S. has been “looted” and “pillaged” by other nations and needs to respond.

The list of countries and territories, laid out across eight pages of documents, includes a baseline 10 per cent tariff on the countries but imposes higher duties on many other countries.

Canada is not impacted — yet — but does continue to face existing tariffs as well as previously threatened auto tariffs that kick in on Thursday.

The chart shows the U.S. will charge a 34 per cent tax on imports from China, 20 per cent on European Union products and 25 per cent on South Korea.

Here’s a list of all the countries and overseas territories listed by the White House as facing “reciprocal” tariffs by the U.S. and the amount they will be hit with in duties from highest to lowest:

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For three years, the U.S. economy has been buffeted by rapid inflation, high interest rates and political instability at home and abroad. Yet it has proved surprisingly resilient, supported by the sturdy pillars of robust consumer spending, a rising stock market, and healthy balance sheets for households and businesses alike.

But one by one, those pillars have begun to crack under the weight of tariffs and uncertainty. The all-out global trade war that President Trump declared on Wednesday could be enough to shatter what had arguably been the economy’s final source of support, the strong job market.

“The strength of the consumer is coming down to the jobs market,” said Sarah House, an economist at Wells Fargo. “And it’s increasingly perilous.”

The sweeping tariffs that Mr. Trump announced on Wednesday, and the duties that U.S. trading partners quickly imposed in retaliation, sent stock indexes around the world tumbling on Thursday. The effects won’t be limited to the financial markets: Economists say tariffs will raise prices for consumers and businesses, which will lead employers to pull back on hiring and, if the tariffs remain in place long enough, lay off workers.

“If the economy isn’t growing as fast, or it isn’t growing at all, you don’t need as many workers,” Ms. House said.

Economists will get their latest glimpse of the job situation on Friday, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release March figures on hiring and unemployment.