President Donald Trump has announced plans for sweeping reciprocal tariffs, targeting both allies and competitors, in an escalation of international trade war that economists warn could fuel inflation at home. Since taking office, Trump has announced a broad range of tariffs targeting some of America's biggest trading partners, arguing that they would help tackle unfair practices. Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said he had decided to impose reciprocal duties, telling reporters that US allies were often worse than our enemies on trade. He called the European Union absolutely brutal in its trade ties with Washington. The levies will be tailored to each US trading partner and consider the tariffs they impose on American goods, alongside taxes seen as discriminatory, a White House official said. Trump's commerce secretary nominee Howard Lutnick said studies should be completed by April 1, and the president could start tariffs as early as April 2. Washington will begin by examining economies with which the United States has its biggest deficits or most egregious issues, the White House official added. This should be a matter of weeks, in a few months, the official said. Ahead of Trump's Oval Office comments, Trump trade advisor Peter Navarro told reporters Major exporting nations attack our markets with punishing tariffs and even more punishing non-tariff barriers. Cost-of-living pressures were a key issue in the November election that saw Trump return to power, and the Republican has promised to swiftly reduce prices. But economists caution that sweeping tariffs on US imports would likely boost inflation, not reduce it, in the near term and could weigh on growth eventually. The White House official said the United States has been treated unfairly, saying a lack of reciprocity is a reason behind the country's persistent annual trade deficit in goods, which topped $1 trillion last year. Trump acknowledged that US prices could go up due to tariffs but expressed confidence that they would ultimately ease. Trump also criticized certain areas of Europe for a VAT tax of about 20 percent, although some analysts have challenged the characterization that VATs provide unfair trade advantages.?

President Donald Trump has announced plans for sweeping reciprocal tariffs, targeting both allies and competitors, in an escalation of international trade war that economists warn could fuel inflation at home. Since taking office, Trump has announced a broad range of tariffs targeting some of America's biggest trading partners, arguing that they would help tackle unfair practices. Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said he had decided to impose reciprocal duties, telling reporters that US allies were often worse than our enemies on trade. He called the European Union absolutely brutal in its trade ties with Washington. The levies will be tailored to each US trading partner and consider the tariffs they impose on American goods, alongside taxes seen as discriminatory, a White House official said. Trump's commerce secretary nominee Howard Lutnick said studies should be completed by April 1, and the president could start tariffs as early as April 2. Washington will begin by examining economies with which the United States has its biggest deficits or most egregious issues, the White House official added. This should be a matter of weeks, in a few months, the official said. Ahead of Trump's Oval Office comments, Trump trade advisor Peter Navarro told reporters Major exporting nations attack our markets with punishing tariffs and even more punishing non-tariff barriers. Cost-of-living pressures were a key issue in the November election that saw Trump return to power, and the Republican has promised to swiftly reduce prices. But economists caution that sweeping tariffs on US imports would likely boost inflation, not reduce it, in the near term and could weigh on growth eventually. The White House official said the United States has been treated unfairly, saying a lack of reciprocity is a reason behind the country's persistent annual trade deficit in goods, which topped $1 trillion last year. Trump acknowledged that US prices could go up due to tariffs but expressed confidence that they would ultimately ease. Trump also criticized certain areas of Europe for a VAT tax of about 20 percent, although some analysts have challenged the characterization that VATs provide unfair trade advantages.?