US President Donald Trump's administration's tariffs on imports from dozens of countries, ranging from 10 to 50 percent, went into effect Thursday and put the Republican's strategy to reduce the trade deficit to the test.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) began collecting higher tariffs at 12:01 p.m. Eastern Time, after weeks of uncertainty about the final percentage of Trump's measures and accelerated negotiations with countries around the world that wanted to lower them.
Products loaded onto U.S. ships and those in transit before midnight can continue to enter the U.S. without new measures until October 5, CBP announced earlier this week.
Imports from many countries were previously subject to a base rate of 10 percent after Trump paused higher tariffs announced in early April. But the US president has frequently changed his plans since then, imposing higher rates on some countries.
This includes 50 percent imports from Brazil, 39 percent from Switzerland, 35 percent from Canada and 25 percent from India. On Wednesday, he announced an additional 25 percent tariff on India's imports of Russian energy, which will take effect in 20 days.
Ahead of the enactment, Trump spoke of "billions of dollars" that would flow into the US, mostly from countries he claims have exploited the US.
"THE ONLY THING THAT CAN STOP AMERICA'S GREATNESS IS THE COURT OF THE RADICAL LEFT THAT WANTS OUR COUNTRY TO FAIL," he wrote on his social platform Truth Social.
Eight major trading partners, accounting for 40 percent of U.S. trade, have reached framework agreements with Washington, including the European Union, Japan and South Korea. They have secured a base rate of 15 percent. The United Kingdom has agreed to 10 percent, and Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines to between 19 and 20 percent.
Photo: EPA/RONALD WITTEK
