Thursday Briefing: Trump’s “liberation day”
By Natasha Frost
The New York Times Morning Briefing
April 3, 2025
Good morning. We're covering the start of a global trade war and Israel's moves into Gaza. Plus: A blockbuster David Hockney exhibition.
President Trump signed an executive order on tariffs in the White House Rose Garden on Wednesday. Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on imports. In a ceremony at the White House Rose Garden, President Trump unveiled his most expansive tariffs to date yesterday, including tariffs of at least 10 percent on all trading partners except Canada and Mexico, with duties stretching past 20 percent, 30 percent and even beyond for some nations. He framed his policies as a response to a national emergency, saying that tariffs were needed to build up domestic production.
America's Trade Deficits and Surpluses With Other Countries:
- China: -$300 billion
- Mexico
- Vietnam
- Germany
- Japan
- Ireland
- Canada
- South Korea
- Taiwan
- Italy
- India
- Thailand
- Malaysia
- Switzerland
- Indonesia
- France
- Israel
- Singapore
- Spain
- Brazil
- Britain
- Belgium
- All other countries
- Australia
- Netherlands
Wall Street shuddered in response, with early market reaction pointing to a further slide in the stock market and a weakening dollar. Analysts were still trying to work out how the tariff levels had been derived, and some said they were confused about the numbers. European officials are poised to respond with countermeasures. Although the E.U. has so far concentrated on imposing higher tariffs on a wide variety of goods, officials have discussed placing penalties like tariffs or market access restrictions on U.S. technology companies and even limiting American banks' access to certain E.U. markets.
Quotable: "This is liberation day," Trump said. He called the announcement "our declaration of economic independence" and described it as one of the most important moments in American history.
