Trump tariffs stay: US President delivers long-awaited ‘Liberation Day’ speech – and divulges how Britain’s economic system can be affected 

According to a chart held up by Donald Trump, the US will impose no more than the baseline 10% tariff.

The EU, meanwhile, will be charged 20%.

Donald Trump says he will impose a 10% baseline tariff on all nations, including the UK.

These tariffs will apply from tomorrow morning.

The president criticised the EU, as well as Asian countries, for placing tariffs on American cars.

It comes after the White House confirmed a 25% tariff on all foreign vehicles from midnight tonight.

In a shock statement, the president said the US has been ‘looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike.’

He said that ‘hardworking American citizens’ have for years been forced to ‘sit on the sidelines as other nations got rich and powerful.’

Trump claims that America has been taken advantage of by ‘cheaters’ and has been ‘pillaged’ by foreigners.

‘Our taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years, but it is not going to happen anymore,’ he added

Donald Trump has now say he will shortly sign an ‘historic executive order instituting reciprocal tariffs on countries throughout the world.’

‘Reciprocal. That means they do it to us and we do it to them. Very simple. Can’t get any simpler than that.’

‘We have some very, very good news today,’ he says: ‘A lot of good things are happening for our country.

‘This is Liberation Day. 2 April 2025 will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America’s destiny was reclaimed, and the day that we began to make America wealthy again.’

Donald Trump has appeared in the White House’s Rose Garden to applause and a rendition of Hail to the Chief

Markets remained volatile on Wednesday ahead of Trump’s tariff plans.

For weeks, Trump has pegged April 2 as ‘Liberation Day’, when he plans to impose an array of new tariffs that could upend the global trade system with big implications for corporate earnings, global growth, inflation and Federal Reserve interest rate policy.

A person familiar with the administration’s deliberations told Reuters the tariffs are expected to be significant, hitting a wide range of countries, including close allies.

Investors had kicked off the year with high hopes for pro-growth policies from Trump but have been spooked by a barrage of tariff-related headlines.

While investors broadly agree the long-awaited announcement could be pivotal near-term for global financial markets, they are unsure about which way prices will swing and what will come next as negotiations could be protracted.

‘I can’t recall a situation where the stakes were this high and yet the outcome was so unpredictable,’ said Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers. ‘The devil is going to be in the details and nobody knows the details.’

Trump is expected to appear at 9pm UK time – he is set to appear with his entire cabinet, as well as leaders of blue collar industries.

House Speaker Mike Johnson can be seen smiling in the White House’s Rose Garden, as the world waits with bated breath to see what announcements Trump will make

Trump has already imposed 20% duties on all imports from China and 25% duties on steel and aluminum and extended them to nearly $150 billion worth of downstream products.

He has postponed a 25% tariff on most Canadian and Mexican goods to pressure them to crack down on drug trafficking and immigration, though that is due to expire on Wednesday.

Starmer said the US-UK trade talks are ‘well advanced’ yesterday, a day before Trump’s so-called Liberation Day.

He told Sky that the UK is ‘working hard on an economic deal’ with the US, and said ‘rapid progress’ had been made.

But the prime minister begrudgingly admitted: ‘Look, the likelihood is there will be tariffs. Nobody welcomes that, nobody wants a trade war.

‘But I have to act in the national interest and that means all options have to remain on the table.