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On April 2, 2025, President Donald Trump announced a 10% baseline tariff on imports and country-specific “reciprocal” rates. The “Liberation Day” label was Trump’s wording. The rates and start dates below describe what CBS reported at the announcement—not today’s tariff schedule.
What Trump announced on April 2, 2025
Trump called the policy reciprocal, saying, “Reciprocal. That means they do it to us and we do it to them.” He also said, “This is Liberation Day.” Those phrases framed the announcement; they were not neutral descriptions of the policy.
CBS reported that the plan included a 10% baseline tariff on imports, scheduled to take effect April 5, 2025. It also reported that country-specific rates Trump displayed were scheduled to take effect April 9. The listed rates were:
| Country or trading partner | Rate displayed at the announcement | Scheduled start reported by CBS |
|---|---|---|
| China | 34% | April 9, 2025 |
| European Union | 20% | April 9, 2025 |
| Vietnam | 46% | April 9, 2025 |
| Taiwan | 32% | April 9, 2025 |
| Japan | 24% | April 9, 2025 |
| India | 26% | April 9, 2025 |
| South Korea | 25% | April 9, 2025 |
These are figures from CBS’s coverage of the April 2 announcement, not a statement of rates currently in force. A headline tariff rate also does not, by itself, establish what a particular household would pay for a particular product.
How the administration justified the policy
Trump argued that trade deficits were an economic and national-security problem and that the United States relied too heavily on foreign goods. These were his stated reasons for the policy, as reported by CBS; they do not independently establish what the tariffs would do to trade, prices, employment, or security.
The White House’s April 2, 2025 release compiled supportive statements from lawmakers, administration officials, and industry representatives. Among those it named were Coalition for a Prosperous America chairman Zach Mottl, Steel Manufacturers Association president Philip K. Bell, and U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer. The release documents those speakers’ support, but it was a curated advocacy statement, not a representative survey of public opinion or an independent evaluation of the policy.
What the administration later said about trade balances
In a 2026 retrospective, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) reported changes in goods-trade balances:
- USTR reported a 24% decline in the overall U.S. goods trade deficit from April 2025 through February 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier.
- It said more than 61% of trading partners had improved U.S. bilateral goods balances over that same comparison period.
- For 2025, USTR reported a 30% decline in the U.S. goods trade deficit with China.
- From April 2025 through February 2026, compared with the same period a year earlier, it reported a 45% decline in the U.S. goods trade deficit with the European Union.
These are USTR’s reported figures, with the periods it specified. The agency’s retrospective advocates the administration’s trade policy; the figures show reported changes, not that tariffs alone caused them. The White House also published a retrospective with overlapping but not identical figures, so statistics from the two releases should not be treated as one uniform series.
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What the Supreme Court decided in 2026
On February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court decided Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump. The Court’s opinion framed the question as whether the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) authorizes the President to impose tariffs and held that it does not.
The Court’s docket records a separate procedural disposition: the judgment in Learning Resources was vacated and the case remanded with instructions to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction, while the judgment in V.O.S. Selections was affirmed. The holding concerns tariff authority under IEEPA. It should not be read as deciding the validity of every tariff imposed under a different statute.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What happened after the ruling—and what remains uncertain
In a February 23, 2026 report, CBS said Trump announced a temporary 10% global import tariff after the Supreme Court ruling, then raised it to 15% and invoked Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. CBS reported that the measure would expire after 150 days unless Congress extended it. That is a dated account of a volatile policy, not confirmation of the measure’s status after the reported period.
CBS also reported uncertainty among companies and U.S. trading partners about what they would be charged and how negotiated arrangements might be affected. William Reinsch, then identified by CBS as a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a former president of the National Foreign Trade Council, described the situation as “huge uncertainty.” His comment was made in the context of the February 2026 ruling and its aftermath, not as a claim about every business or present conditions.
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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →The announcement-era rates in the table should not be used to estimate a current import charge or future household cost. The dated sources summarized here do not establish today’s operative tariff rates, exemptions, refund processes, or the status of trade arrangements. Those details require verification against current federal actions.
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