Photo: Marko Djurica/ Reuters
Starting from 00:01 am on the US East Coast (07:01 am in Kyiv) on Saturday, US customs officials began levying a new 10% duty on all imports from dozens of countries. This unilateral step was initiated by President Donald Trump as part of a large-scale trade policy aimed at completely changing the post-war system of mutually agreed customs agreements. This was reported by DW.
The “basic level” tariff is being introduced for goods from countries such as Australia, the United Kingdom, Colombia, Argentina, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. It has already been implemented at US ports, airports and customs warehouses. This is only the first wave: new, much higher duties will be applied from 9 April – and may reach 50%.
Former Trump trade adviser, attorney Kelly Ann Shaw, called the changes “seismic” for the global trade architecture: “It means the US is rethinking its trade strategy with every country in the world.”
The new “mirror” tariffs will range from 11% to 50%, depending on the country. In particular, imports from the European Union will be subject to a 20% tariff and Chinese goods to a 34% tariff, which, together with the previously established duties, brings the total tariff for China to 54%.
For goods that were loaded before the new regime came into force, there is a 51-day “grace period”. They must arrive in the US by 27 May to avoid the new duties.
At the same time, the Trump administration has released a list of more than 1,000 categories of goods that are exempt from the new tariffs. This list includes oil, energy, pharmaceuticals, uranium, titanium, copper, semiconductors, and lumber – worth more than $645 billion in total according to 2024 import data.
The new tariffs will not affect goods that are already subject to “national security duties” of 25%. These include steel, aluminium, cars, trucks and auto parts.
Trump is thus effectively ushering in a new trade era in which the United States dictates global terms without regard to multilateral agreements. The global economy is already holding its breath for the second act of the tariff drama, which starts next week.
