Trump's trade war: Which countries were hit by which tariff rates?

President Donald Trump's move to impose sweeping tariffs on U.S. imports on allies and rivals alike sparked threats of retaliation on Thursday, intensifying a global trade war that threatens to stoke inflation and raising fears of recession.

The penalties announced on Wednesday unleashed turbulence across world markets and drew condemnation from other leaders facing the end of an era of trade liberalization that has shaped the global order for decades.

Trump said he would impose a 10 percent baseline tariff on all imports to the United States and higher duties on some of the country's biggest trading partners.

According to Fitch Ratings, the effective U.S. import tax rate has shot up to 22 percent under Trump from just 2.5 percent in 2024, reaching levels last seen around 1910.

As investors digested the news on Thursday, stock markets in China and Tokyo sank to multi-month lows. European shares were also down sharply in morning trade, with top goods exporter Germany hit hard.

Wall Street futures sank as investors shed riskier assets in favour of safe-haven bonds and gold.

Tariff rates: Who got what 

The reciprocal rates are meant to capture policies such as currency manipulation, lax pollution and labor laws, and burdensome regulations that Trump says keep U.S. products out of foreign markets.

The European Union will be hit with a 20 percent U.S. tariff rate, with 46 percent for Vietnam, 24 percent for Japan, 25 percent for South Korea, 26 percent for India, and 36 percent for Thailand.

China, which had the largest 2024 trade surplus with the U.S. at $295 billion, will get a 34 percent reciprocal tariff rate. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said this extends to 54 percent when combined with Trump's 20 percent February duties imposed over the U.S. fentanyl overdose crisis. During his 2024 election campaign, Trump promised a 60 percent duty on Chinese goods.

The UK, Brazil and Singapore, which ran trade deficits with the U.S. last year, still got the baseline 10 percent rate. White House officials said many countries would run larger deficits with the U.S. if their policies were fairer.

But Russia was not on Trump's tariff list, despite running a $2.5 billion goods trade surplus with the U.S. in 2024 according to the U.S. Trade Representative's office.

Goods from Canada and Mexico are not currently subject to reciprocal tariffs because Trump's prior 25 percent fentanyl-related duties remain in place on their goods, along with 10 percent for Canadian energy and potash.

But a tariff exemption for goods compliant with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade will continue indefinitely, providing some welcome relief for U.S. automakers. Trump had previously said the USMCA exemption granted a month ago would expire on Wednesday.

The fentanyl-related tariffs will stay in place until drug trafficking and border migration conditions improve, officials said, but if those are removed, they will be replaced by a 12 percent duty for imports that are not compliant with USMCA rules of origin.

Reactions and countermeasures

Now facing 54 percent tariffs on exports to the U.S., China vowed countermeasures, as did the European Union – Washington's "friends and foes" united in criticism of measures they fear will deal a devastating blow to global trade.

"China firmly opposes this and will take countermeasures to safeguard its own rights and interests," said China's Commerce Ministry. "There are no winners in trade wars, and there is no way out for protectionism. 

"China urges the U.S. to immediately lift unilateral tariffs and properly resolve differences with its trading partners through dialogue on an equal footing."

European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen also criticized the move, saying "The consequences will be dire for millions of people around the globe," and adding that the 27-member bloc was preparing to hit back if talks with Washington failed.

Among close U.S. allies, the EU was targeted with a 20 percent rate, Japan with 24 percent and South Korea with 25 percent. Tariffs were even imposed on some tiny territories and uninhabited islands in the Antarctic.

"This is not the act of a friend," said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia. "The (Trump) administration's tariffs have no basis in logic and they go against the basis of our two nations' partnership."

Trump said the "reciprocal" tariffs were a response to duties and other non-tariff barriers put on U.S. goods. He argued that the new levies will boost manufacturing jobs at home.

"For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far," Trump said.

Outside economists have warned that tariffs could slow the global economy, raise the risk of recession, and increase living costs for the average American family by thousands of dollars.

"This is how you sabotage the world's economic engine while claiming to supercharge it," said Nigel Green, CEO of global financial advisory deVere Group. 

"The reality is stark: these tariffs will push prices higher on thousands of everyday goods - from phones to food - and that will fuel inflation at a time when it is already uncomfortably persistent."

Ending 'de minimis'

The reciprocal tariffs do not apply to certain goods, including copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, lumber, gold, energy and "certain minerals that are not available in the United States," according to a White House fact sheet.

Following his remarks, Trump also signed an order to close a trade loophole used to ship low-value packages – those valued at $800 or less – duty-free from China, known as "de minimis." The order covers goods from China and its Hong Kong region and will take effect on May 2, according to the White House, which said the move was intended to curb the flow into the U.S. of fentanyl.

Trump is also planning other tariffs targeting semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and potentially critical minerals. Earlier in the day, the administration said a separate set of tariffs on auto imports that Trump announced last week will take effect starting on Thursday.

Trump previously imposed 25 percent duties on steel and aluminum and extended them to nearly $150 billion worth of downstream products.

Tariff concerns have already slowed manufacturing activity across the globe, while also spurring sales of autos and other imported products as consumers rush to make purchases before prices rise.

Now as the reality of the new tariffs sinks in, companies around the world must weigh up how to adjust, with their options limited and unpalatable for their customers.