Trump's Reciprocal Tariffs Announced

President Donald Trump's newest wave of reciprocal tariffs have been announced Thursday.

President Donald J. Trump at the Oval Office.

The president previously enacted a range of much harsher tariffs on some of America's largest trading partners to kickstart his international trade policy. First, he enacted a flat 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico and a 10% tariff on many Chinese goods, much of which have been postponed to a later date. Then, the president passed a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports, most of which have been from the European Union.

Now, the president wants to take his tariff policy a bit further by making "reciprocal tariffs," a reality, tariffs that are meant not to merely serve as a detriment to the foreign country but rather to serve a more mutual purpose in order to relive of trade imbalances.

Trump on Thursday cited fiscal excuses as his way of justifying new duties. He is hoping to fulfill his 2024 election promise of raising government revenues through levying higher tariffs.

These tariffs are expected to be the most revenue-generating for the U.S. with some exceptions. They will enable the nation to raise hundreds of billions of additional revenue while not being as severe as some other aggressive tariff policies which he has already implemented or is considering implementing.

However, these tariffs could also be as detrimental, if not worse, for American businesses than other forms of tariffs. They will especially target high-in-demand products which most Americans consume. This might drive up inflation in the U.S.

Nevertheless, stocks surged Thursday as a result of these reciprocal tariffs. The S&P and Nasdaq blazed 0.5% and 0.9%, respectively, as of 2:00 PM EST.

The president is said to be enacting these tariffs later today, with specifics unknown as of now.