Trump imposes reciprocal tariffs on India, China starting April 2
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Washington: US President Donald Trump announced in his first address to a joint session of Congress that reciprocal tariffs would take effect on April 2, criticising the European Union, China, Brazil, India, and South Korea for their high tariffs.
"Whatever they tax us, we tax them." Trump said.
"Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades, and now it is our turn to start using them against those other countries. On average, the European Union, China, Brazil, India, Mexico, Canada, and countless other nations charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them; it is very unfair," said Trump.
"India charges us tariffs of 100 percent, China's average tariff on our products is twice what we charge them… South Korea's average tariff is four times higher... the system is not fair to the US, and it never was... on April 2, reciprocal tariffs kick in, and whatever they tariff us... we will tariff them... whatever they tax us, we will tax them. If they do non-monetary tariffs to keep us out of their market, then we will do non-monetary barriers to keep them out of our market..."
Trump stated that the imported goods often arrive uninspected, potentially contaminated, and hurt American farmers.
Trump criticised the previous Democratic administration, saying it left behind an economic crisis and soaring inflation. He blamed their policies for drastically increasing energy prices, making basic necessities unaffordable for millions of Americans. The result was the worst inflation in 48 years.
As president, I am fighting every day to reverse this damage and make America affordable again," he said.
Trump proposed making interest payments on car loans tax-deductible, but only for vehicles manufactured in the US, as part of his broader plan to boost American manufacturing by cutting taxes on domestic production.
He clarified that there would be no tax on Social Security benefits for seniors.
Trump emphasised his administration’s commitment to lowering energy costs as part of his fight against inflation. He criticised the Biden administration for shutting down over 100 power plants and asserted, “We are opening up many of those power plants right now."
As Trump outlined the budget cuts his administration claimed to have made, Democrats grew increasingly vocal, responding with groans and shouts of “Not true!,” “Bullshit!,” and “Those are lies!”
The 78-year-old president said he was "just getting started" on his radical plans to reshape the country. "The American Dream is surging—bigger and better than ever before. The American Dream is unstoppable, and our country is on the verge of a comeback the likes of which the world has never witnessed and perhaps will never witness again," he said.
Trump proudly highlighted the achievements of his first six weeks, declaring that they had achieved more in 43 days than most administrations do in four to eight years, and vowed to press forward with reshaping the US government and ending the Ukraine war, regardless of the cost. It was met with chants of "USA, USA!" from loyal lawmakers.