Trump announces start of reciprocal tariffs, says billions of dollars now flowing into US

United States President Donald Trump has announced the commencement of reciprocal tariffs, which will result in higher taxes on exports to the US for dozens of countries.

In a post on his Truth Social platform Wednesday morning, the president promised a major boost to the US economy.

“Reciprocal tariffs take effect at midnight tonight! Billions of dollars, largely from countries that have taken advantage of the United States for many years, laughing all the way, will start flowing into the USA,” he said.

The president also said only legal challenges could hinder the policy’s success, referencing an ongoing case in the US court of appeals that is considering whether he exceeded his authority in imposing the “reciprocal” tariffs.

“The only thing that can stop America’s greatness would be a radical left court that wants to see our country fail!” he said.

Minutes before the deadline, Trump posted: “It’s midnight! Billions of dollars in tariffs are now flowing into the United States of America!”

Last week, Nigeria and a raft of African countries were hit with a 15 percent import tariff following a sweeping executive order from Trump.

Earlier in April, Trump had slammed sweeping tariffs on global trading partners, imposing 14 percent on Nigeria.

The “reciprocal” tariffs were later postponed for 90 days to allow for time to negotiate individual trade deals, with the deadline moved to August 1.

Earlier, the US president imposed a 50 percent tariff on India, which will take effect on August 27 unless the Asian nation stops buying Russian oil.

Trump also threatened a 100 percent tariff on foreign-made computer chips as he pushes tech firms to invest in the US.

It came as Apple announced a new $100 billion US investment after the White House pressured it to move more production to America.

Last week, the Trump administration announced a revised list of import taxes on dozens of trading partners and extended a deadline for countries to reach agreements with the US to August 7.

Countries have been racing to strike deals with Washington in a bid to lower or scrap the tariffs.