The White House has released details about US President Donald Trump’s ‘Make America Wealthy Again’ announcement, saying “Liberation Day” tariffs will come into immediate effect.
Mr Trump spent Tuesday speaking with his trade and tariff team “perfecting” the final details.
Whilst those conversations were taking place, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt warned the imminent financial changes were no April Fools joke.
“Liberation Day in America would be taking place today, if not for April Fool’s Day, but tomorrow will be the day, and he (Mr Trump) has been talking about it for a while,” Ms Leavitt said.
“Tomorrow’s announcement is to protect future generations,” she said, adding the tariffs will “ensure that there are jobs here in the United States of America for their children”.
Ms Leavitt said Mr Trump’s office had received a flurry of calls from concerned counties.
Despite saying Mr Trump was “always up” for a phone call with other nations, she said there was only one country Mr Trump was really thinking about.
“There’s one country that President Trump cares most about, and it’s the United States of America,
Make America Wealthy Again
Mr Trump’s team has now issued invitations for the president’s first media event at the White House Rose Garden of his second term.
Dubbed the “Make America Wealthy Again event”, media will gather to hear from Mr Trump himself as he and his team reveal the details of his “Liberation Day” tariffs.
The event, which will take place at 4pm local time on Wednesday (7am AEDT/ 4am AWST), will see Mr Trump announce his tariffs that will come into effect by midnight that day.
Countries across the world are holding their breath in anticipation of the economy-changing tariffs, with some quickly moving to make changes that they hope may put them in a favourable position.
Israel has moved to “eliminate” tariffs on imports from the US, hoping that if reciprocal tariffs are put in place, the country may evade being slapped with a financial punishment.
“Completely eliminating tariffs on imports from the US is a significant step in safeguarding the Israeli economy during a sensitive period,” Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Tuesday.
Australia prepared for Donald Trump’s tariffs
What will Donald Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs be?
White House aides have drafted plans for 20 per cent tariffs on most goods imported to the United States, the Washington Post reports, as Mr Trump prepares to announce trade barriers that have businesses, consumers and investors fretting about an intensifying global trade conflict.
Mr Trump has for weeks put a circle around April 2 as a “Liberation Day” to impose an array of new tariffs that could upend the global trade system, but has provided few details.
He said on Sunday that reciprocal tariffs will target all countries that impose duties on US goods, and the White House said on Monday that any country that has treated the US unfairly should expect to receive a tariff.
Mr Trump also says a 25 per cent tariff on car imports will take effect on April 3.
The administration anticipates the new duties could raise more than $US6 trillion ($A9.6 trillion) in revenue that could be sent on to US citizens as a rebate, the paper reported.
The president has argued that US workers and manufacturers have been hurt over the past decades by free-trade deals that have lowered barriers to global commerce and fuelled the growth of a $US3 trillion US market for imported goods.
The explosion of imports has come with what Mr Trump sees as a glaring downside: massively imbalanced trade between the US and the world, with a goods trade deficit that exceeds $US1.2 trillion.
Economists issue warning for global economy
Economists warn his remedy – hefty tariffs – would raise prices at home and abroad and hammer the global economy.
A 20 per cent tariff on top of those already imposed would cost the average US household at least $US3400, according to the Yale University Budget Lab.
Signs are already emerging that the US economy is losing momentum due in part to uncertainty fostered by Mr Trump’s chaotic approach to economic policy making.
A raft of business and household surveys have shown sagging confidence in the economic outlook, citing worries that Mr Trump’s tariffs will lead to resurgent inflation.
Factories around the world, from Japan to the United Kingdom to the United States, have had an activity slump in March as businesses braced for Mr Trump’s tariffs although some registered a bounce in the race to get goods to consumers before the new measures hit.
Economists say any increase is likely to be temporary.
“It won’t be long before US tariffs turn from being a tailwind to being a drag,” said Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics.
– with Reuters