US starts collecting Trump’s new 10% tariff, smashing global trade norms

A US Customs and Border Protection bulletin provided a 51-day grace period for cargoes loaded or in transit to the US before 12.01 am ET Saturday. These cargoes need to arrive by May 27 to avoid the 10 per cent duty.

Trump’s higher “reciprocal” tariff rates of 11 per cent to 50 per cent are due to take effect on Wednesday at 12.01am ET. European Union imports will face a 20 per cent tariff, while Chinese goods will be hit with a 34 per cent tariff, bringing Trump’s total new levies on China to 54 per cent.

Beijing on Saturday said, “The market has spoken” in rejecting Trump’s tariffs. China applied a slew of countermeasures, including extra levies of 34 per cent on all US goods and export curbs on some rare earth minerals.

“China has been hit much harder than the USA, not even close,” Trump said on Saturday on social media. “THIS IS AN ECONOMIC REVOLUTION, AND WE WILL WIN. HANG TOUGH, it won’t be easy, but the end result will be historic.”

Shortly after posting the comment, Trump was spotted arriving at his Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter, Florida, reading a New York Post article covering China’s retaliation to US tariffs and the stock market fall.