Trump Administration Rolls Out Sweeping 10% General Tariff on All Imports, Reciprocal Elevated Duties Targeting EU, 53 Other Countries

President Donald Trump formally announced these measures during a press event at the White House Rose Garden on 2 April 2025, which the Administration designated as "Liberation Day". Trump subsequently issued an Executive Order declaring a national emergency citing large and persistent annual US goods trade deficits.

The Executive Order specifically cites conditions such as a lack of reciprocity in trade relationships, disparate tariff rates, non-tariff barriers and policies suppressing wages and consumption as contributing to persistent US trade deficits and posing an extraordinary threat to national security and the economy.

The new 10% general tariff will apply broadly to all other US trading partners not included in Annex I, which prescribes elevated country-specific tariffs on imports from the EU and 53 other countries identified as maintaining significant non-reciprocal trade practices. As a result, countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Brazil, Chile, New Zealand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Singapore—none of which are cited for engaging in unfair or non-reciprocal trade practices—will not face the elevated tariffs. Instead, their exports to the United States will be subject only to the baseline 10% ad valorem duty.

Meanwhile, countries on Annex I will face ad valorem tariff rates, as follows:

• Algeria: 30%;
• Angola: 32%;
• Bangladesh: 37%;
• Bosnia and Herzegovina: 36%;
• Botswana: 38%;
• Brunei: 24%;
• Cambodia: 49%;
• Cameroon: 12%;
• Chad: 13%;
• China: 34%;
• Côte d'Ivoire: 21%;
• Democratic Republic of the Congo: 11%;
• Equatorial Guinea: 13%;
• European Union: 20%;
• Falkland Islands: 42%;
• Fiji: 32%;
• Guyana: 38%;
• India: 27%;
• Indonesia: 32%;
• Iraq: 39%;
• Israel: 17%;
• Japan: 24%;
• Jordan: 20%;
• Kazakhstan: 27%;
• Laos: 48%;
• Lesotho: 50%;
• Libya: 31%;
• Liechtenstein: 37%;
• Madagascar: 47%;
• Malawi: 18%;
• Malaysia: 24%;
• Mauritius: 40%;
• Moldova: 31%;
• Mozambique: 16%;
• Myanmar: 45%;
• Namibia: 21%;
• Nauru: 30%;
• Nicaragua: 19%;
• Nigeria: 14%;
• North Macedonia: 33%;
• Norway: 16%;
• Pakistan: 30%;
• Philippines: 18%;
• Serbia: 38%;
• South Africa: 31%;
• South Korea: 26%;
• Sri Lanka: 44%;
• Switzerland: 32%;
• Syria: 41%;
• Taiwan: 32%;
• Thailand: 37%;
• Tunisia: 28%;
• Vanuatu: 23%;
• Venezuela: 15%;
• Vietnam: 46%;
• Zambia: 17%; and
• Zimbabwe: 18%.

These new tariffs are on top of, not in lieu of, existing tariffs, such as those imposed on Chinese goods, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. For example, Chinese imports—already subject to a 20% tariff under a previous executive action targeting synthetic opioid trafficking (see President Trump Doubles Down on Tariffs as China Fails to Act on Opioid Crisis (4 Mar. 2025))—would now face a combined 54% in tariffs due to China's inclusion in Annex I, which imposes an additional 34% reciprocal tariff.

The Executive Order provides several general and product-specific exemptions to the newly imposed tariffs, including:

• products with at least 20% US-originating content (subject to verification by US Customs and Border Protection);
• goods already subject to Section 232 duties (e.g., steel, aluminum, automobiles); and
• imports from Canada and Mexico, qualifying under the USMCA.

While imports from Canada and Mexico that meet USMCA rules of origin will continue to enter the US duty-free, goods that are not USMCA-compliant are subject to higher tariffs—25% for most non-compliant imports, and 10% for non-compliant energy products and potash (see President Trump Again Adjusts Canadian, Mexican Tariffs Amid Trade War; Canada Focuses on Internal Trade (7 Mar. 2025) and President Trump's 25% Tariffs on Canada, Mexico Take Effect but De Minimis Exception Will Continue (4 Mar. 2025)).

Goods subject to Column 2 rates under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule and shipments eligible for de minimis treatment (valued at or below USD 800) remain exempt, except those from China and Hong Kong. In addition, essential products, such as copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and critical minerals, as well as goods potentially subject to future Section 232 tariffs, are also excluded.

President Trump also issued a separate Executive Order specifically addressing the de minimis loophole utilized by Chinese-based shippers. Effective 2 May 2025, low-value shipments (i.e. those not exceeding USD 800) from China and Hong Kong lose duty-free treatment. For postal shipments, a 30% duty or USD 25 per item, whichever is higher, will apply beginning 2 May 2025. The fixed duty will increase to USD 50 per item after 1 June 2025. This measure aims to counter deceptive practices where Chinese-based shippers hide illicit substances, including synthetic opioids, in low-value packages to exploit the de minimis exemption, according to the White House.

Governments worldwide have vowed to implement countermeasures in response to the Trump administration's latest action.

Note: There are minor discrepancies between the tariff rates announced by President Trump during the 2 April 2025 press conference and those formally listed in Annex I. In most cases, the differences amount to a 1-% point variation.

These variations may reflect last-minute revisions or rounding differences between preliminary announcements and the finalized EO.

Report from Jannica Santos, Attorney