The world braces for Trump's reciprocal tariffs on April 2
On April 2, dubbed “Liberation Day” by President Trump, the U.S. will impose new “reciprocal” tariffs on imports, escalating trade tensions with key partners.
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On Wednesday, April 2, or as President Trump calls it "Liberation Day", America intends on imposing "reciprocal" tariffs by increasing US duties to match the tax rates charged by other countries on American imports.
The import duties come on top of the series of other tariffs Trump has already announced-most of which are on America's largest trading partners with huge trade deficits-namely China, Canada and Mexico.
While very little is known about the details of the tariffs, some countries are likely to get hit harder than the others.
Census data shows that nearly 100 countries have a trade deficit with the U.S. The data covers a little over 250 countries which also include trade with free trade unions.
The wave of tariffs is Trump's attempt to boost the demand for good made in the U.S. and spur domestic manufacturing sector.
The U.S. deficit widened over a month by 28 percent, reaching $156 billion in the month of January in 2025 from $122 billion in December last year.
The U.S. recorded significant trade deficits with leading partners in 2024: approximately $295 billion with China, $235.6 billion with the European Union (EU), and $171.8 billion with Mexico.
The U.S. recorded a goods trade deficit of $63.3 billion with Canada, one of its leading trade partners. This deficit was smaller than those with several other nations, including Vietnam ($124 billion), Germany ($84.8 billion), Ireland ($86.7 billion), Taiwan ($73.9 billion), South Korea ($66 billion), and Japan ($68.5 billion).
The Group of seven countries or better known as G7, comprise of advanced economies. These include Japan, Germany, U.S., UK, Italy, France and Canada. Census data shows that U.S. recorded trade deficits with five of the six trading partners in the G7.
Notably, the U.S. maintained a trade surplus with the UK in 2024.
While G7 nations will take a hit of the tariffs, developing economies will feel the impact. Collectively, the U.S. trade deficit with major Asian economies—China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea—amounted to approximately $627 billion in 2024.
Ahead of April 2, South Korea, China, and Japan agreed to promote regional trade through South Korea-Japan-China free trade agreement deal.
The U.S. has a trade deficit with four of the five original members of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). Except for Brazil, the U.S. imports more than it exports from the rest of the members. A reciprocal tariff could change all of that and might push for a stronger case for de-dollarization amongst the Bloc members.
More interactive graphs here