President Trump’s New Tariffs Take Effect Amid Rising Global Trade Tensions
President Donald Trump’s latest wave of tariffs officially went into effect just after midnight, marking a sweeping increase in trade levies on nearly all U.S. trading partners. The new measures represent one of the most comprehensive overhauls of U.S. trade policy in recent years and have already begun to provoke international response.
Switzerland, which was hit with the steepest tariffs among developed economies, is reportedly considering retaliatory action, including the possible cancellation of a major fighter jet purchase from the United States.
In a separate announcement, President Trump confirmed plans to impose a 100% tariff on all semiconductor imports, with exemptions for companies that relocate manufacturing operations to the U.S. “We are committed to bringing production back home and ensuring America’s supply chains are secure,” Trump said during a press briefing.
Tariff-related tensions also intensified between the U.S. and Japan, with Tokyo expressing surprise at the scale of duties imposed, citing discrepancies between what had been negotiated and the final policy details. The administration is further weighing additional tariffs on China, this time targeting purchases of Russian oil—mirroring similar levies recently applied to Indian imports.
While the U.S. market grapples with trade uncertainty, China’s export sector showed unexpected resilience last month, posting a rise in shipments driven by demand from non-U.S. markets. The news provided modest relief to Chinese equities, helping stocks pare earlier losses.
On the diplomatic front, President Trump revealed there is a “very good chance” he will meet with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in the coming days. The Kremlin has since confirmed that a meeting with Putin is expected imminently, as part of renewed U.S.-led efforts to broker peace between the two nations.
Meanwhile, U.S. travel was briefly disrupted as United Airlines resumed normal operations following a nationwide grounding due to a technical issue. The outage caused widespread delays and comes just two weeks after a similar system failure at Alaska Airlines temporarily grounded its fleet.
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