Trump signs off on proposed reciprocal tariffs

The reciprocal tariffs will be customized for each foreign trading partner, based on five different areas: tariffs the nation imposes on U.S. products, unfair taxes imposed, cost to U.S. businesses and consumers from another country’s policies, exchange rates, and any other practices the trade representative’s office determines is unfair.

The tariffs will not be immediately imposed but the signing of the memo allows his administration to begin a review process to get them started. White House officials said that Trump wants to move rapidly on imposing the tariffs, suggesting it would be “weeks” and no longer than “a few months” until they are in place.

The president in the memo directs Commerce secretary nominee Howard Lutnick and U.S. trade representative nominee Jamieson Greer to consult with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, among others, so they can “quickly” submit a report detailing their proposals for each country.

Trump is focused on what officials call “nonmonetary barriers,” which officials defined as ways different countries “take advantage of the U.S.,” citing Japan’s high structural barriers and India’s particularly high tariffs.

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