Trump announces sweeping new global tariffs on all imports into US

United States President Donald Trump has announced tariffs of at least 10 percent on all goods coming into the country.

The tariffs, according to Trump, will create a hard reset on the US manufacturing industry, leading to a stronger economy and lower prices for consumers.

“Jobs and factories will come roaring back into our country,” Trump said at the ‘Make America Wealthy Again’ event in the Rose Garden on Wednesday.

“We will supercharge our domestic industrial base. We will pry open foreign markets and break down foreign trade barriers, and ultimately, more production at home will mean stronger competition and lower prices for consumers.

“This will be, indeed, the golden age of Americans coming back. We’re going to come back very strongly.”

The charges are a 10-percent “minimum baseline tariff” for all imports into the country.

Separately, over 50 countries, including China, the United Kingdom (UK), and South Africa, face individualised tariffs ranging from 10 to as high as 49 percent.

Before Trump’s announcement, the European Union (EU), Mexico, Canada, China, Japan, and South Korea had already pledged to respond.

Responding in his speech, Trump claimed that the US takes care “of countries all over the world” noting that “when you want to cut back a little bit, they get upset you’re not taking care of them any longer”.

He instead asked them to lift their tariffs on US goods in their countries if they sought relief.

The new policy is a dramatic shift in global trade and economic policy, rattling markets and stirring fears of a global trade war.

Economists have predicted that the US could enter a recession owing to Trump’s economic decisions.