US President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping reciprocal tariffs on 2 April 2025 in a White House Rose Garden ceremony, imposing a 10 percent baseline duty on imports from almost every country and higher discounted reciprocal rates on about 60 countries with the largest trade deficits. The baseline took effect on 5 April and the reciprocal rates on 9 April. Steel and aluminium products already covered by Section 232 tariffs were explicitly exempt from the new duties, so the two regimes would not stack, as were copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, lumber and energy products. The announcement, branded Liberation Day, sent global markets sharply lower and drew retaliation from China within days. For steel, the practical effect was limited in the short term, since the 25 percent Section 232 duties already applied, but the broader tariff shock deepened uncertainty over demand, disrupted supply chains for steel-using industries such as cars and machinery, and pushed the World Steel Association to hold back its spring demand outlook.
Source: Baker Botts — https://www.bakerbotts.com/thought-leadership/publications/2025/april/president-trump-unveils-long-awaited-reciprocal-tariff-regime
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