President Donald Trump recently signed a memo this week calling for “fair and reciprocal” tariffs for all major U.S. trading partners.
The memo includes a call for an investigation by Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, and his global trade representative, Jamieson Greer. Included as part of the “Fair and Reciprocal Plan,” the investigation will be dedicated to whether “remedies” are needed to ensure a reciprocal trade relationship between the U.S. and other countries.
The report will need to be submitted within 180 days. On April 2, Trump will then need to decide if the recommended tariffs will need to be enacted. Allies will reportedly be included in the country-by-country report and will not be spared from having tariffs placed on their imports.
“I’ve decided, for purposes of fairness, that I will charge a reciprocal tariff, meaning whatever countries charge the United States of America,” Trump said Thursday per NBC News. “In almost all cases, they’re charging us vastly more than we charge them, but those days are over.”
Through the tariffs on the countries, the Trump administration is attempting to raise revenue to pay for the tax cuts he previously implemented in 2017, as well as the ones he’s scheduled to implement. With the tariffs, however, economists warn that they will negatively impact consumers, making the rising inflation rates even more difficult to navigate. As tariffs get placed on importers, they will increase pricing for retailers to make up for the cost, thereby leading to increased costs for consumers.
President Trump: There will be NO EXCEPTIONS on reciprocal tariffs. FAIR IS FAIR! pic.twitter.com/YL5magqZZ1
— Trump White House Updates (@TrumpWHUpdates) February 13, 2025
The new implementation is also expected to hit hard countries such as India, Brazil and Vietnam and European Union countries such as Germany, Ireland and Italy. Some of the biggest exports set to face higher tariffs include medicine, medical equipment and cars.
As of now, only one tariff is active; Trump previously set a 10% levy on Chinese imports. Along with an additional 25% duty on steel and aluminum imports, which was recently announced this week, the 25% tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico have yet to take effect.
Those tariffs on the U.S.’ neighboring countries will be delayed until the first week of March, as the Trump administration announced after Canada and Mexico agreed to send border enforcement.
After the announcement of the tariffs in early February, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada would also implement a set of tariffs on U.S. imports in retaliation.
