US customs agents have initiated the collection of President Donald Trump’s unilateral 10% tariff on imports from numerous countries, with increased duties on goods from 57 major trading partners set to commence next week.
The initial 10% “baseline” tariff took effect at US ports, airports, and customs warehouses at 12:01 AM local time (5:01 AM Irish time), marking Mr. Trump’s complete dismissal of the post-WWII system of mutually agreed tariff rates.
“This is the largest trade action of our generation,” said Kelly Ann Shaw, a trade lawyer at Hogan Lovells and a former White House trade adviser during Mr. Trump’s first term.
Ms. Shaw stated at a Brookings Institution event on Thursday that she anticipates the tariffs will change over time as nations attempt to negotiate lower rates. “However, this is significant. This represents a dramatic and important shift in our trading practices with every country worldwide,” she added.
Donald Trump’s tariff announcement drove the Nasdaq toward a bear market.
Commodity prices, including oil, plummeted as investors sought the safety of government bonds.
Countries initially impacted by the 10% tariff include Australia, Britain, Colombia, Argentina, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.
A bulletin from US Customs and Border Protection indicates that there is no grace period for cargo on the water at midnight.
Read more: Tánaiste to travel to US to meet Commerce Secretary, Shares dive as Trump tariffs spark recession concerns, Europe caught between contemplation and response to Trump tariffs, Tariffs: ‘Non-panic approach is essential’
However, a US Customs and Border Protection bulletin provided a 51-day grace period for cargo loaded onto vessels or planes and en route to the US before 12:01 AM local time.
These shipments must arrive by 12:01 AM local time on May 27 to evade the 10% duty.
At the same moment on Wednesday, Mr. Trump’s elevated “reciprocal” tariff rates ranging from 11% to 50% are expected to take effect.
Previously, Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on imported vehicles.
Imports from the European Union will face a 20% tariff, while goods from China will incur a 34% tariff, raising Mr. Trump’s total new levies on Chinese imports to 54%.
Vietnam, which benefited from the US supply chain shift away from China following Mr. Trump’s initial trade conflict, will face a 46% tariff and has agreed to negotiate a deal with Mr. Trump as of yesterday.
Canada and Mexico are exempt from Mr. Trump’s latest tariffs due to a 25% duty related to the US fentanyl crisis for goods that do not align with the US-Mexico-Canada agreement on rules of origin.
Mr. Trump is excluding items subjected to separate 25% national security tariffs, which include steel and aluminum, vehicles, and auto parts.
His administration has also published a list of over 1,000 product categories that are exempt from the tariffs.
These categories, valued at €588 billion in 2024 imports, encompass crude oil, petroleum products, and other energy imports, pharmaceuticals, uranium, titanium, lumber, semiconductors, and copper.
With the exception of energy, the Trump administration is examining several of these sectors for potential additional national security tariffs.
Meanwhile, Tánaiste Simon Harris is set to visit the US next week for a meeting with Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick.
It is understood that this meeting will occur on Wednesday.
The two have also communicated via telephone in recent days, discussing the mutually beneficial nature of the trading relationship between their countries.
