U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs on dozens of countries are raising concerns among its trading partners. Asian countries are hard-hit, while nearby Mexico and Canada have remained unscathed. But nobody is certain what the effects will be from the tariffs from the world's largest consumer economy.
Trump says the tariffs will protect domestic industries, but U.S. consumers are worried they may feel the costs soon.
Trump says the tariffs will protect domestic industries, but U.S. consumers are worried they may feel the costs soon.
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00:00Smiles and cheers at the White House as U.S. President Donald Trump announces sweeping
00:07tariffs on dozens of countries.
00:09My fellow Americans, this is Liberation Day, waiting for a long time.
00:16Trump slapping a baseline 10 percent tariff on all U.S. trading partners, and even double
00:20or triple that on places the U.S. views as major economic competitors, like China, Japan
00:26and the European Union.
00:28For months, countries have been scrambling to negotiate with Trump to stymie his calls
00:31for tariffs, and the announcement has left many world leaders reeling.
00:36The administration's tariffs have no basis in logic, and they go against the basis of
00:42our two nations' partnership.
00:44This is not the act of a friend.
00:46Australia has a trade deficit with the U.S., but says it will not impose reciprocal tariffs,
00:52saying the costs of doing so are a burden on domestic consumers.
00:56Meanwhile in London, the government is still hoping to strike a trade deal with the U.S.
01:00to deter escalation.
01:02The government has been really clear that we're going to approach this in a clear-headed
01:07way and always represent the national interest.
01:10It's why myself and the business and trade secretary met with big U.K. exporters this
01:16morning.
01:17They don't want government to rush into any response because the prize on offer is an
01:23economic agreement.
01:24The EU, which received a 20 percent tariff, is also considering its own tariffs on American
01:29services in the finance, travel and medical industries.
01:33This could severely impact the U.S., which is the largest exporter of services in the
01:37world.
01:38But Trump has his own suggestions for clearing the tariffs and promoting American industry.
01:43If they complain, if you want your tariff rate to be zero, then you build your product
01:48right here in America, because there is no tariff if you build your plant, your product
01:52in America.
01:53Terminate your own tariffs, drop your barriers, don't manipulate your currencies.
01:59They manipulate their currencies like nobody can even believe, which is a bad, bad thing
02:04and very devastating to us, and start buying tens of billions of dollars of American goods.
02:13But back in the U.S., some American consumers are afraid that they will be the ones bearing
02:18the brunt of the new tariffs if domestic production can't keep up.
02:22I mean, I think everybody's already seen the effect of tariff, especially, like, if
02:27you have any money in the stock market, you've lost some money.
02:31I think everybody's anticipating prices going up, and it's kind of the last thing we need
02:35right now, because we're already dealing with inflation.
02:38You know, it's not the America that I grew up under.
02:41You know, you go out there, you work hard.
02:43You know, you come home, you take care of your family.
02:46You know, whatever he's doing, I guess he knows what he's doing, but I guess he don't
02:50know what he's doing, but we'll find out.
02:53Trump has touted his economic policy as an America-first strategy, but as the tariffs
02:58take effect in the next few days, the world will be watching closely to see if that turns
03:02out to be true.
03:03Patrick Chen and Tiffany Wong for Taiwan Plus.