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President Trump to Order 'Reciprocal Tariffs' to Begin This Week

Bitcoin retreated to $86,000 in volatile action as the announcements were made.

Trump in the Oval Office
President Donald Trump (Getty images)

What to know:

  • President Donald Trump will sign an order for "reciprocal tariffs" to begin at midnight, he said Wednesday during a Rose Garden address.
  • There will be a 25% tariff on all foreign autos, while China faces a 34% levy and the European Union 20%.
  • Bitcoin is volatile, but currently down about 1% from just ahead of the announcements.

In a Rose Garden ceremony on Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he intends to immediately sign an order for "reciprocal tariffs" to be levied against U.S. trading partners.

"Our country and its taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years but it’s not going to happen anymore," said Trump, adding that some of the tariffs will begin at midnight.

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The first specific tariff announced at the ceremony was a 25% levy on all foreign-made autos, starting midnight on Thursday, April 3.

The U.S. will impose an across-the-board tariff rate of 10%, which will be in effect on midnight on April 5.

Among country-specific tariffs: China will see a rate of 34%, Vietnam 46%, Taiwan 32% South Korea 25%, European Union 20%, Switzerland 31%. According to a White House fact sheet, these country-specific tariffs will start at midnight on April 9.

The price of bitcoin (BTC) initially rose in the ceremony's early stages, but began to give ground as the tariffs were detailed. The price has retreated to $86,000, down about 1% from prior to the announcements.

U.S. stock index futures are plunging, with the Nasdaq 100 lower by 2.3% and the S&P 500 by 1.7%. Gold, meanwhile, shot higher to a new record high just below $3,200 per ounce.

UPDATE (March 2, 2025, 21:50 UTC): Adds details about tariff implementation dates.

Stephen Alpher

Stephen is CoinDesk's managing editor for Markets. He previously served as managing editor at Seeking Alpha. A native of suburban Washington, D.C., Stephen went to the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, majoring in finance. He holds BTC above CoinDesk’s disclosure threshold of $1,000.

Stephen Alpher