US President Donald Trump is all set to impose his 'Liberation Day' tariffs from Wednesday, April 2, with a set of countries fearing that they might be at the 'worst' receiving end after being listed as the "Dirty 15" nations.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had last month said the Trump administration had its focus particularly fixated on the 15 per cent of the countries that account for the largest trading volumes with the US and the highest tariffs at the same time, referring to them as the "Dirty 15".
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He said these nations often have a system in place that governs domestic content or food safety that conspires to keep American products out of their markets.
Bessent had said that unless the tariff or non-tariff barriers are equalised, or the US has higher tariffs, the April 2 tariffs will go into effect.
"On April 2, each country will receive a number that we believe represents their tariffs. For some countries, it could be quite low, for some countries, it could be quite high," the White House official said during an interview with Fox News.
‘Dirty 15’ countries
{{/usCountry}}"On April 2, each country will receive a number that we believe represents their tariffs. For some countries, it could be quite low, for some countries, it could be quite high," the White House official said during an interview with Fox News.
‘Dirty 15’ countries
{{/usCountry}}White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday that the tariffs will be "effective immediately".
While details of Trump's tariffs are not yet clear and any official list has not been put out yet, a report from the US Census Bureau reveals a set of country that are Washington's top trade partners, ranked by 2024 total bilateral goods trade.
- Mexico
- Canada
- China
- Germany
- Japan
- South Korea
- Taiwan
- Vietnam
- The United Kingdom
- India
- Netherlands
- Ireland
- Italy
- France
- Brazil
The US president is set to make the tariff announcements during his 'Make America Wealthy Again' press conference at the White House's Rose Garden at 4 pm (20:00 GMT) on Wednesday.
The Trump administration expects tariff announcements to trigger offers from affected countries to reduce their own tariffs or non-tariff measures.
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Reuters cited an official who said that India, for one, was already trying to move ahead of the US actions.
Donald Trump has often mentioned that India has the highest average tariff rates, one among its top trading partners, while the European Union countries have been slammed for their high 10 per cent car tariff rate, four times of the 2.5 per cent US passenger car rate, but less than 25 per cent US tariff on pickup trucks.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Trump had made a big bold claim that he has heard India is planning to cut tariffs on American goods substantially, saying that "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."
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The White House has listed India among the nations being "unfair" and damaging US exporters with high charges.
Earlier, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also had said that India imposes a 100 per cent tariff on American agricultural goods, making it "virtually impossible" for US products to reach certain foreign markets. "These countries have been ripping off our nation for far too long," she said.
Bessent had reportedly also said he was optimistic that tariffs for some countries may not have to go into effect as a deal is pre-negotiated or that once countries receive their reciprocal tariff numbers, "they will come to us and want to negotiate it down" right after.
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Countries that fail to reduce their trade barriers will face steep tariffs aimed at protecting the interests of the US economy, its workers and industries, the Treasury Secretary added.
Meanwhile, the US' top trading partners, Mexico and Canada, have already been embroiled in a tariff war with the US. The 25 percent tariffs imposed on imports from these countries came into force on March 4.
Canada and China were among the nations who hit back at Washington, levying reciprocal tariffs. Ottawa pushed 25 per cent tariffs on C$30 billion ($20.7 billion) worth of America's intentions. Beijing, on the other hand, announced additional tariffs of 10 per cent to 15 per cent on certain US imports from March 10.
(with inputs from agencies)