President Trump has plowed ahead with sweeping tariffs on dozens of countries, following through on his months-long push to upend the global trading system even as some allies voice concern over the impact.
The average tariff rate on imports from other countries is now around 15 percent — a significant jump from the roughly 2 percent average last year.
Trump has been plotting this economic upheaval for months — since first unveiling his plan in April for "reciprocal tariffs" on countries that sell many goods to the U.S. but buy fewer American-made products.
The president had pushed back the new implementation multiple times amid pressure from Wall Street and fellow Republicans who hoped to calm market jitters. He set new rates last week, but bumped the start to today.
About 92 countries are affected, according to an independent tariff tracker.
Trump touted the new tariffs shortly before they took effect at midnight, arguing in all-capital letters on social media that billions of dollars would start flowing to the U.S. from countries that have taken advantage of it.
"IT'S MIDNIGHT!!!" the president added a short time later on his Truth Social platform. "BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN TARIFFS ARE NOW FLOWING INTO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!"
Still, American companies must decide whether to eat the higher cost of importing goods or pass them along to consumers. Many major corporations have signaled that prices for goods will increase.
"I've had retailers telling me that they think their prices will have to change in the fall. As their initial contracts change, their input price is higher [and] goods will go higher, too," Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told The Hill recently.
Under the plan that kicked in at midnight, most countries will pay a baseline tariff rate of 10 percent, with a sliding scale up to 41 percent. Some trading partners hashed out more favorable arrangements with the White House in negotiations that have come together in recent weeks, while other nations continue to pursue agreements.
After the president's April announcement sparked a tumultuous response, markets have mostly shrugged off the new tariffs. Months of delays and negotiations have produced a number of deals with top trading partners such as the European Union, Japan, South Korea and more.
▪ The New York Times: Japan's auto giants are expecting pain despite Trump trade deal.
▪ The Wall Street Journal: Countries seek more clarity from the U.S. as Trump revamps global order.
Even as he pressed ahead with rates outlined last week, Trump has ratched up other levies and threatened more hikes.
On Wednesday, he announced a hefty increase in tariffs on India over its buying of Russian oil. The president said he was tacking on a 25 percent increase, which would take effect in three weeks, in addition to the 25 percent "reciprocal" tariff that took effect Thursday.
"They're buying Russian oil, they're fueling the war machine. And if they're going to do that, then I'm not going to be happy," Trump told CNBC.
Trump said Wednesday that he may also increase tariffs on semiconductors to "100 percent."
"We're going to be putting a very large tariff on chips and semiconductors," he told reporters at the White House.
▪ CNN: China seizes the moment to praise 'beloved Brazilian coffee' as Trump's tariffs take effect.
Whether Trump has the authority to levy his sweeping duties is still being scrutinized in court.
The White House has broadly cited the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) — a 1977 law authorizing the president to issue certain economic sanctions in an emergency to counter an "unusual and extraordinary threat" — to justify the moves.
"It's just hard for me to see that Congress intended to give the president in IEEPA the wholesale authority to throw out the tariff schedule that Congress has adopted after years of careful work and revise every one of these tariff rates," Appeals Court Judge Timothy Dyk said during a recent hearing.
Former Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who worked on trade while on Capitol Hill, said in an interview Wednesday he thinks the emergency tariff authority Trump has cited for the hikes is likely to be struck down by the Supreme Court.
"[The market thinks that tariffs] are going to settle into some easy, predictable place, and I just don't think that's going to happen," Ryan added in an interview on CNBC.
Other Republicans on Capitol Hill have admitted to feeling jittery over the trade restructuring after a Trump-disputed jobs report showed the economy added far fewer jobs than previously estimated over the past three months.
APPLE OF TRUMP'S EYE: Tech giant Apple announced a major investment Wednesday in growing its manufacturing endeavors stateside — a crucial goal of Trump's push for higher tariffs.
Apple CEO Tim Cook joined Trump at the White House to announce a new $100 billion U.S. investment to boost domestic production of its products.
While speaking to reporters after their announcement, Cook praised Trump as "a great advocate for American innovation and manufacturing."
▪ CNBC: Apple and Trump detail $100 billion U.S. spending expansion, including $2.5 billion for an iPhone glass factory.
IT'S TIME: The clock is ticking on Trump's timeline for naming a new head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) after he abruptly fired the former commissioner on the heels of a dismal jobs report last week.
The president said Sunday he would have a new pick to lead the government's official employment tracker "over the next three, four days" — putting things squarely in that timeframe today, though it could shift.
Trump drew significant backlash from economists and others over his decision to fire BLS head Erika McEntarfer over alleged "inaccuracies" and "incompetence" after the release of the bureau's July report.
Trump also has said he is whittling down his list of potential Federal Reserve chair candidates as he prepares to name a successor to Chair Jerome Powell "soon."
▪ Politico magazine: "You're Asking Me to Contemplate the Nuclear Scenario": A former Federal Reserve official gets candid about Trump's firing of the BLS chief.
▪ CNN: Trump says the Bureau of Labor Statistics orchestrated a "scam." Here's how the jobs report really works.
▪ The Hill: Trump "has convinced himself" the jobs data was manipulated, according to New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman.
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