April 2nd, U.s. Reciprocal Tariffs Kick In

The world is bracing for a seismic announcement from the United States on Wednesday, 2nd April, that will impose reciprocal tariffs on countries that trade with the worlds largest economy . And according to a notice issued by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative seeking public comment as part of the Governments unfair trade review, countries of particular interest include many in the G20 bloc of nations.

President Donald Trump has used the imposition of tariffs as a key peg of his America First ideology that has left global markets on edge and angered allies and foes alike.

President Trump has framed Wednesday, April 2nd, as Liberation Day - arguing that tariffs protect U.S. industries and manufacturing from unfair competition, raising money for the federal government while providing leverage in negotiations with other countries.

"Were going to charge countries for doing business in our country and taking our jobs, taking our wealth, taking a lot of the things that theyve been taking over the years. Theyve taken so much out of our country, friend and foe and frankly, friend has been oftentimes much worse than foe. And youre going to see prices going down. But its going to go down specifically because theyre going to buy what were doing, incentivizing companies to, and even countries, but companies to come into America and build. And were already setting records for new plants."

But his penchant for tariffs and the uncertainty around his economic agenda has roiled markets with the S P500 and the Nasdaq Composite posting their worst quarterly performance since 2022 this week as the markets struggle to find direction.