Upcoming ‘Liberation Day’ to Include Sweeping International Tariffs
A massive series of tariffs will be levied toward numerous countries on April 2 in an event US President Donald Trump is calling “Liberation Day.” The President’s goal is to induce more purchasing of certain domestic goods in the US, instead of goods produced and imported internationally.
Though the amount of countries tariffed is unspecified—along with the exact percentage and type of imported goods—President Trump said that all countries will be subject to tariffs.
“This is the beginning of Liberation Day in America,” President Trump said to reporters about the upcoming day. “We’re going to charge countries for doing business in our country and taking our jobs, taking our wealth, taking a lot of things that they’ve been taking over the years. They’ve taken so much out of our country, friend and foe. And, frankly, friend has been oftentimes much worse than foe.”
The President claims countries have “taken advantage” of the US for too long: “[M]any countries have taken advantage of us the likes of which nobody even thought was possible for many many decades for decades and you know that has to stop,” Trump said.
Trump told NBC News that he hopes foreign car manufacturers will raise their prices: “I hope they raise their prices, because if they do, people are gonna’’ buy American-made cars. I couldn’t care less because if the prices on foreign cars go up, they’re going to buy American cars.”
These tariffs will prove the US still treats other countries better than they treat the US, according to Trump. Among the known products tariffed will be pharmaceutical drugs, copper, and lumber. Tariffs have already been imposed on Canada, China, and Mexico. These countries were also tariffed because of fentanyl trafficking coming into the US through their borders.
European leaders also see the imposition of tariffs as a way step toward independence from the US. On Monday European Central Bank (ECB) head Christine Lagarde commented on the upcoming “Liberation Day”: “He calls it Liberation Day in the United States,” she said of President Trump’s intentions. “I see it as a moment when we must together decide to take better control of our destiny, and I think it’s a step towards independence.”
However, the ECB Head said the EU is in a good position to negotiate with the US.
