Tariffs will go into effect immediately, says White House

WASHINGTON: In a move that’s left many on edge, President Donald Trump’s highly anticipated tariffs are set to take effect sooner than some had expected — as in immediately, the White House said Tuesday.

Although many details remain unknown, perhaps even to Trump himself, the administration’s ‘Liberation Day’ trade policy announcement is expected to be the most aggressive tariff move yet by the most tariff-obsessed President in modern history, CNN reported.

Trump is meeting with his trade team on Tuesday, and the tariffs he announces at a Rose Garden ceremony at 4 pm ET Wednesday will go into effect “immediately,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a press briefing.

.@PressSec on unfair trade practices on the U.S.:

50% tariff from the EU on American dairy
700% tariff from Japan on American rice
100% tariff from India on American ag products
300% tariff from Canada on American butter & cheese

T-1 DAY UNTIL LIBERATION DAY! pic.twitter.com/EzYqL42efJ

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 2, 2025

While speaking to reporters on Sunday, Trump stated, that hat he’d “settled” on a plan for sweeping new tariffs to be announced midweek, catching some White House officials by surprise: If the president had indeed arrived at a final decision for the tariffs, it hadn’t yet been widely shared inside the building, as per CNN.

Still unclear is whether Trump plans to levy individual tariff rates on all US trading partners, put tariffs on only some countries, or apply a universal tariff — perhaps as high as 20 per cent — on all imports. Trump’s advisers are publicly supportive of Trump’s tariff agenda, but they differ in approach and scope behind the scenes.

Meanwhile, recently, Trump said that he had heard that India was dropping its tariffs on American goods substantially. “I think I heard that India just a little while ago is going to be dropping its tariffs very substantially and I said why didn’t somebody do this a long time ago”, he said.

AMERICA FIRST: Business leaders—ranging from local businesses to major corporations, at home and abroad—agree:

President Trump’s tariffs will strengthen American companies, drive investment in the U.S., support working families, and restore American prosperity. pic.twitter.com/IrKXhUb7hJ

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 31, 2025

Trump was asked if his tariffs — which are to be effective from Wednesday — may push countries to side with China, to which he promptly said that the tariffs would actually help the countries do better. He did not explain how that would be.

“No, I’m not worried about it. I think they have a chance of doing better with the tariffs. It can actually help them in a certain way, and I think a lot of them will drop their tariffs because they’ve been unfairly tariffing the United States for years,” he said.

Trump said that the European Union had dropped its tariffs on US-made cars to 2.5 per cent. “If you look at the European Union- on cars, the European Union already dropped their tariff down to 2.5 per cent. It was announced a couple of days ago, which is a very small tariff the United States charged,” he said.

Trump will unveil a new tariff plan on April 2, which he has dubbed “Liberation Day,” in his first Rose Garden press conference of his second term, CNN reported. (ANI)