Trump tariffs live updates: US import taxes hit levels not seen in nearly 100 years
President Donald Trump began levying higher import taxes on dozens of countries Thursday, just as the economic fallout of his monthslong tariff threats has begun to create visible damage for the U.S. economy.
The import taxes are at a level not seen in the U.S. in almost 100 years, with Americans expected to pay an average of 18.3% more for imported products. That’s the highest rate since 1934, according to the Budget Lab at Yale, a nonpartisan policy research center.
Despite the uncertainty, the Trump White House is confident businesses will ramp up new investments and jump-start hiring in ways that can rebalance the U.S. economy as a manufacturing power. But so far, there are signs of self-inflicted wounds to America as companies and consumers alike brace for the impact of new taxes.
What to know:
- World stock markets mostly climb: Stocks are rising on Wall Street with the S&P 500 0.5% higher in early trading and sitting just a bit below its record, which was set late last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 254 points, as of 9:31 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.8% higher. International market reaction to Trump’s tariffs has been scant. In early European trading, Germany’s DAX rose 0.9% to 24,137.51. In Asian trading, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.7% to 41,059.15.
- The countries impacted by the tariffs: More than 60 countries and the European Union face tariff rates of 10% or higher. Products from the EU, Japan and South Korea are taxed at 15%, while imports from Taiwan, Vietnam and Bangladesh are taxed at 20%. Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to place an additional 25% tariff on India for its purchases of Russian oil, bringing the combined tariffs imposed by the United States on its ally to 50%, to go into effect later this month.
- Trump demands Intel CEO resign: The company’s shares slumped after Trump called the chip company’s new CEO Lip-Bu Tan “highly CONFLICTED” and demanded his resignation. Senator Tom Cotton had sent a letter to Intel expressing concern that Tan supports the Chinese government and military through his tech company connections. Intel had been a beneficiary of the Biden administration’s CHIPS Act, receiving more than $8 billion in federal funding to build computer chip plants around the country.