U.S. President Donald Trump has unveiled a new trade policy centered on fairness and reciprocity, stating that the U.S. will impose reciprocal tariffs, mirroring the tariffs that other countries charge on American goods.
Trump emphasized that this approach aims to counteract unfair trade practices, including non-monetary barriers, subsidies, and VAT systems, while encouraging foreign nations to either reduce or eliminate tariffs on U.S. products.
Sharing a post on X on Monday, Trump declared, “On trade, I have decided, for purposes of fairness, that I will charge a reciprocal tariff, meaning, whatever countries charge the United States of America, we will charge them – No more, no less!”
He further noted that VAT systems, which are more punitive than tariffs, would be considered equivalent to tariffs under this new policy. Trump also addressed concerns about countries rerouting goods through third-party nations to circumvent fair trade policies.
“Sending merchandise, product, or anything by any other name through another country, for purposes of unfairly harming America, will not be accepted,” he wrote. “In addition, we will make provision for subsidies provided by countries in order to take economic advantage of the United States.”
Trump asserted that the policy would also tackle non-monetary tariffs and trade barriers that prevent U.S. products from entering foreign markets or restrict American businesses from operating in certain countries.
“We are able to accurately determine the cost of these Nonmonetary Trade Barriers. It is fair to all, no other country can complain and, in some cases, if a country feels that the United States would be getting too high a Tariff, all they have to do is reduce or terminate their Tariff against us,” he added.
Highlighting past economic challenges due to unfair trade policies, Trump remarked that “America has helped many countries throughout the years, at great financial cost. It is now time that these countries remember this, and treat us fairly – a level playing field for American workers.”
He also confirmed that he has instructed key officials, including the Secretary of State, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of the Treasury, and the United States Trade Representative (USTR), to take the necessary steps to implement this trade policy.