President Donald Trump announced plans for sweeping tariffs Wednesday, saying “our country has been looted, pillaged, raped, plundered” by other nations.
The aggressive rhetoric came as Trump showed a willingness to dismantle a global economic system that the United States helped to build after World War II. Trump held up a chart while speaking, showing the United States would charge a 34% tax on imports from China, a 20% tax on imports from the European Union, 25% on South Korea, 24% on Japan and 32% on Taiwan.
“Taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years,” Trump said in remarks at the White House. “But it is not going to happen anymore.”
The president has promised that factory jobs will return back to the United States as a result of the taxes, but his policies risk causing a sudden economic slowdown as consumers and businesses could face sharp price hikes on autos, clothes and other goods.
The tariffs are expected to follow similar recent announcements of 25% taxes on auto imports; levies against China, Canada and Mexico; and expanded trade penalties on steel and aluminum. Trump has also imposed tariffs on countries that import oil from Venezuela and he plans separate import taxes on pharmaceutical drugs, lumber, copper and computer chips.