President announced , saying 鈥渙ur country has been looted, pillaged, raped, plundered鈥 by other nations.
The aggressive rhetoric came as Trump showed a willingness to dismantle a global economic system that the United States helped to build after World War II. Trump held up a chart while speaking, showing the United States would charge a 34% tax on imports from China, a 20% tax on imports from the European Union, 25% on South Korea, 24% on Japan and 32% on Taiwan.
鈥淭axpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years,鈥 Trump said in remarks at the White House. 鈥淏ut it is not going to happen anymore.鈥
Here's the latest:
Trump wraps up his tariff announcement speech
Trump has wrapped up his speech announcing sweeping tariffs on U.S. trade partners after about 45 minutes.
鈥淚 think you鈥檙e going to remember today,鈥 he said toward the end, predicting that the public might look back on his economic policies and conclude he was right. That鈥檚 despite many experts predicting his policies will mean major upheaval for the U.S. economy.
After his speech in the White House鈥檚 Rose Garden, Trump sat down at a small desk erected for the occasion and signed two executive orders that helped cement the new tariff policies.
Trump says his 鈥榬eciprocal鈥 tariff rates are 鈥榢ind鈥 and could have been much steeper
Trump is calling his tariff policy 鈥渒ind reciprocal,鈥 saying he could鈥檝e been much harsher on U.S. trading partners.
The president said the tariff rates he鈥檚 imposing, steep as they are, don鈥檛 match the levies that some countries impose on U.S. exporters. He鈥檚 calling the rates he chose the 鈥渄iscounted reciprocal tariff.鈥
Trump suggests that US income tax, and moving away from tariffs, helped fuel the Great Depression
Trump used his tariff speech to again champion the Gilded Age.
As he has repeatedly since starting his second term, Trump suggested that the U.S. was at its wealthiest when it was a 鈥渢ariff nation鈥 between 1870 and 1913.
He added that 鈥渇or reasons unknown to mankind,鈥 the U.S. went to income tax in 1913.
Trump suggested that the 1930s鈥 Great Depression was fueled by the U.S. going to an income tax and away from tariffs.
Economists and historians say the U.S. did grow between 1870 and 1913, but that was mostly due to immigration and was wracked by inequality.
Full list of Trump鈥檚 鈥榬eciprocal鈥 tariffs
This is the full list of what Trump is calling 鈥渞eciprocal鈥 tariffs:
1. China: 34%
2. European Union: 20%
3. South Korea: 25%
4. India: 26%
5. Vietnam: 46%
6. Taiwan: 32%
7. Japan: 24%
8. Thailand: 36%
9. Switzerland: 31%
10. Indonesia: 32%
11. Malaysia: 24%
12. Cambodia: 49%
13. United Kingdom: 10%
14. South Africa: 30%
15. Brazil: 10%
16. Bangladesh: 37%
17. Singapore: 10%
18. Israel: 17%
19. Philippines: 17%
20. Chile: 10%
21. Australia: 10%
22. Pakistan: 29%
23. Turkey: 10%
24. Sri Lanka: 44%
25. Colombia: 10%
Trump turns to retired auto worker who spoke at GOP convention
Trump invited Brian Pannebecker, a retired autoworker who spoke at the Republican National Convention to speak briefly at his White House news conference on tariffs.
鈥淢y entire life I have watched plant after plant after plant close,鈥 Pannebecker said.
Pannebecker, a Michigan resident, is the founder of Auto Workers for Trump. The influential union United Auto Workers endorsed Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 election but has backed Trump鈥檚 plans to boost tariffs on imported vehicles.
Trump: 鈥楾his is one of the most important days鈥 in American history
鈥淚t鈥檚 our declaration of economic independence,鈥 Trump said in announcing a barrage of tariffs. 鈥淔or years, hardworking American citizens were forced to sit on the sidelines as other nations got rich and powerful, much of it at our expense. But now it鈥檚 our turn to prosper.鈥
U.S. financial markets have been unsettled in anticipation of Trump鈥檚 tariff announcement. Trump insists the moves will strengthen the U.S. economy, even as many experts worry it could lead to higher prices for most American consumers.
Trump鈥檚 Cabinet is making a show of force at his White House event announcing new tariffs
Among those in attendance include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin and Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence.
There鈥檚 a fair amount of pageantry at the Rose Garden event, with the president walking out to a backdrop of numerous American flags.
Trump announces the latest in a series of deals with a major law firm
The newest one concerns Milbank LLP, which the White House says will dedicate at least $100 million in pro bono legal services to causes the Trump administration supports.
The firm also agreed to take on clients without regard to political affiliation and to engage in merit-based hiring and promotion decisions.
Trump鈥檚 executive orders over the last month have injected turmoil into the legal community. They鈥檝e threatened firms with the suspensions of attorneys鈥 security clearances as well as the termination of federal contracts and restrictions on building access for firm employees.
Some firms, like Milbank, have reached preemptive deals with the White House to avert an order. Others, including WilmerHale, Perkins Coie and Jenner & Block, have challenged them in court.
Wall Street swings sharply in final hours of trading before Trump鈥檚 tariff announcement
The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged in late trading Wednesday, but only after careening between an earlier loss of 1.1% and a later gain of 1.1%. It鈥檚 had a of opening with sharp drops only to .
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 31 points, or 0.1%, with an hour remaining in trading, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.3% higher. Both also veered from sharply lower in the morning to sharply higher in the afternoon and then doubled back.
Elon Musk鈥檚 Tesla helped knock the market around after initially falling more than 6% following a report that in the first three months of the year than it did in last year鈥檚 first quarter.
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Outrage grows over Maryland man鈥檚 mistaken deportation to El Salvador prison
In the 22 days since Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia was to a notoriously , his young autistic son has sought comfort in the scent of his missing father鈥檚 clothes.
鈥淎lthough he cannot speak, he shows me how much he missed Kilmar,鈥 Abrego Garcia鈥檚 wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, said in court documents. 鈥淗e has been finding Kilmar鈥檚 work shirts and smelling them, to smell Kilmar鈥檚 familiar scent. He has been crying and acting out more than usual.鈥
Abrego Garcia, 29, was pulled over in an Ikea parking lot and arrested March 12, with his 5-year-old son in the car.
Trump鈥檚 administration acknowledged Monday that sending Abrego Garcia to his native El Salvador was an 鈥渁dministrative error.鈥 An immigration judge in 2019 had granted him protection from being deported back to El Salvador, where Abrego Garcia was likely to face persecution by local gangs.
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RFK Jr. adviser鈥檚 defense of deep cuts to federal health department met with shouts and hissing
Special government employee Calley Means, an adviser to the health secretary, defended Kennedy鈥檚 reorganization of the nation鈥檚 health department Wednesday, a day after thousands of federal health employees were laid off.
Means said the department has a 鈥渞ecord of utter failure,鈥 while speaking at a forum that brought together health industry insiders, lobbyists and politicians.
His comments were sometimes met with hisses and shouts from the audience.
鈥淎ny business if you went into it with the metrics that HHS has overseen, with skyrocketing costs and worse and worse outcomes 鈥 you would of course fire a bunch of people,鈥 Means said.
Conservative-backed candidate鈥檚 concession in Wisconsin stands out in this political era
Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel quickly conceded Tuesday as the first news outlets began calling the race.
As angry yells broke out at his watch party, Schimel doubled down. 鈥淣o,鈥 he responded. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to accept the results.鈥
By acknowledging his loss quickly, Schimel curtailed the kind of explanation-seeking and digital digging that erupted online after Trump, a Republican, lost the 2020 presidential election, with citizen journalists falsely accusing innocent election workers and voters of fraud.
Schimel also avoided the impulses to which many in his party have defaulted in recent elections across the country, as they鈥檝e dragged their feet to avoid accepting defeat.
RFK Jr. remains quiet on 10,000 jobs lost at nation鈥檚 top health department
Secretary . offered no new details Wednesday about his massive restructuring of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Kennedy鈥檚 silence is prompting a bipartisan request for the health secretary to explain before a Senate committee next week.
As many as 10,000 notices were sent to scientists, senior leaders, doctors, inspectors and others across the department in an effort to cut a quarter of its workforce. The agency has offered no specifics, with the information instead coming largely from employees who have been dismissed.
鈥淭his overhaul is about realigning HHS with its core mission: to stop the chronic disease epidemic and Make America Healthy Again,鈥 Kennedy said on social media, in his only comments addressing the layoffs so far. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a win-win for taxpayers, and for every American we serve.鈥
The move, the department has said, is expected to save $1.8 billion from the agency鈥檚 $1.7 trillion annual budget 鈥 about one-tenth of 1%.
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Supreme Court appears divided over a Planned Parenthood funding case
The Supreme Court appeared divided Wednesday over whether states should be able cut off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood 鈥 a case that comes amid a wider push from abortion opponents to defund the nation鈥檚 leading abortion provider.
Low-income patients who rely on Planned Parenthood for things such as contraception, cancer screenings and pregnancy testing could see their care upended if the court sides with South Carolina leaders who say no public money should go to the organization.
The legal question before the court 鈥 whether Medicaid patients can continue to sue over the right to choose their own qualified provider 鈥 could have wider effects.
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Law firms fear Trump orders could affect security clearances
Trump says executive orders targeting law firms are being issued in the name of national security, with the White House asserting that the firms don鈥檛 deserve access to sensitive U.S. government information.
But the firms fear the orders are written so broadly as to potentially weaken national security by calling into question the status of security clearances of lawyers who, in addition to their legal practice, serve as military reservists and require their clearances to report to duty.
It鈥檚 an example of the sweeping and sometimes unintended consequences of White House efforts to reshape civil society, with those affected in some instances not necessarily being the ones who were top of mind when the Trump administration announced the actions.
A White House spokesman pointed to the provision of the order saying the clearances are to be suspended 鈥減ending a review of whether such clearances are consistent with the national interest.鈥
Amazon wants to buy TikTok
Amazon has put in a bid to buy TikTok 鈥 an 11th hour pitch that comes as a U.S. ban on the platform is set to take effect Saturday, a Trump administration official said Wednesday.
The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the Amazon bid was made in an offer letter addressed to Vice President JD Vance and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
Trump has suggested he could further extend the pause on the ban, but he has also said he expects a deal to be struck by Saturday.
鈥 By Aamer Madhani
DOGE days are over?
After a few months of shaking up Washington with DOGE, Trump has made it clear that he鈥檚 ready to move on.
Trump has been praising Elon Musk鈥檚 work but suggesting that he鈥檒l be going back to running his companies. In addition, he told reporters that DOGE 鈥渨ill end.鈥
The White House has not set a timeline for Musk鈥檚 exit, and DOGE was never supposed to be a permanent part of the government. However, it appears to be winding down faster than originally anticipated.
Musk recently told Fox News that he hopes to accomplish his cost cutting goals in the near future.
US imposes sanctions on a network of alleged Houthi financial facilitators
The sanctions include people, firms and ships from Russia, Turkey and other nations who are accused of working in coordination with sanctioned Houthi finance official Sa鈥檌d al-Jamal.
The Treasury Department says the network has procured tens of millions of dollars鈥 worth of commodities from Russia, including weapons and sensitive goods, as well as stolen Ukrainian grain, for shipment to Houthi-controlled Yemen. Treasury鈥檚 Office of Foreign Assets Control also identified eight digital asset wallets used by the Houthis to transfer funds.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday鈥檚 action 鈥渦nderscores our commitment to degrading the Houthis鈥 ability to threaten the region through their destabilizing activities.鈥
The Treasury Department announcement includes the deletion of Karina Yurevna Rotenberg from the sanctions list. Rotenberg, also known as Karina Gapchuk Fox, is the wife of Russian oligarch Boris Rotenberg 鈥 a close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries says, 鈥楾his is not Liberation Day. It鈥檚 Recession Day鈥
Jeffries told reporters Wednesday that Trump鈥檚 rollout of new tariffs would increase prices and ultimately drive the United States into a recession.
Trump is calling today 鈥淟iberation Day,鈥 arguing the new tariffs would free the country from unfair trade practices.
鈥淭his is not Liberation Day,鈥 Jeffries, a Democrat, said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 Recession Day in the United States of America.鈥
Judge who ordered fired federal workers be reinstated now says ruling applies to 19 states and DC
U.S. District Judge James Bredar in Baltimore issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday night that protects those workers while the lawsuit continues.
鈥淥nly states have sued here, and only to vindicate their interests as states,鈥 Bredar wrote. 鈥淭hey are not proxies for the workers.鈥
The order requires the 18 agencies originally named in the lawsuit to follow the law in conducting any future reductions in force. Bredar has now added the Defense Department and the Office of Personnel Management to that number.
Judge Bredar the firings amount to a large-scale reduction subject to specific rules, including giving advance notice to states affected by the layoffs.
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Trump pressures Senate Republicans to oppose resolution that would nullify Canada tariffs
Senate Republicans are facing pressure Wednesday from Trump to oppose the Democratic resolution that would nullify the presidential emergency on fentanyl he鈥檚 using to implement tariffs on Canada.
Just hours before Trump was set to for 鈥渞eciprocal tariffs鈥 on China, Mexico and Canada, the Senate was expected to vote on a resolution that offers Republicans an off-ramp to the import taxes on Canada. It鈥檚 a to Trump鈥檚 vision of remaking the U.S. economy by clamping down on free trade. Many economists are warning the plan could force an economic contraction and GOP senators are already watching with unease.
The votes of at least four Republicans 鈥 Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Rand Paul of Kentucky 鈥 were in doubt ahead of the vote.
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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum maintains optimistic tone in face of promised new tariffs
It comes as her government has sought 鈥減referential treatment鈥 by the Trump administration because of a free-trade agreement between the two nations and Canada.
Sheinbaum said she would wait to take action Thursday when it was clear how Trump鈥檚 announcement would affect Mexico, and that her government was constantly in contact with his administration.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not a question of if you impose tariffs on me, I鈥檓 going to impose tariffs on you,鈥 she said in a news briefing Wednesday. 鈥淥ur interest is in strengthening the Mexican economy.鈥
Economic forecasters have warned that broader 25% tariffs could thrust Mexico鈥檚 economy into a recession.
Italy鈥檚 premier reiterated call to avoid a commercial war between Europe and US
She stressed that it would harm both sides and would have 鈥渉eavy鈥 consequences for the Italian economy.
鈥淚 remain convinced that we must work to avoid in all possible ways a trade war that would not benefit anyone, neither the United States nor Europe,鈥 Giorgia Meloni said at a public event celebrating Italian food and agricultural products.
Meloni added, however, that her view 鈥渄oes not exclude, if necessary, having to also imagine adequate responses to defend our productions,鈥 in reference to a possible European response to President Trump鈥檚 much-awaited announcement on new trade tariffs.
No one is challenging Trump鈥檚 executive order that keeps TikTok running
After TikTok was earlier this year, Trump , barreling past a law that was passed in Congress and upheld unanimously by the Supreme Court that said the ban was necessary for national security.
The Republican president鈥檚 executive orders have spurred in the little more than two months he has been in office, but this one barely generated a peep. None of those suits challenges his temporary block of that banned the popular social video app after the deadline passed for it to be sold by ByteDance, its China-based parent company.
Few of the 431 members of the House of Representatives and the Senate who voted for the law have complained.
Despite a bipartisan consensus about the risk to national security posed by TikTok鈥檚 ties to China, 鈥渋t鈥檚 as if nothing ever happened,鈥 said Sarah Kreps, director of Cornell University鈥檚 Tech Policy Institute.
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Wall Street falls in final hours of trading before Trump鈥檚 tariff announcement
The S&P 500 was 0.7% lower in early trading Wednesday morning, but it鈥檚 had a of opening with sharp losses only to . The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 240 points, or 0.6%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.9% lower.
Tesla helped pulled the market lower after it said in the first three months of the year than it did in last year鈥檚 first quarter. Its stock fell 4.7% to extend its loss for the year so far to nearly 37%. Tesla, one of Wall Street鈥檚 most influential stocks, has faced growing about CEO Elon Musk鈥檚 leading the U.S. .
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Contest to decide who can build casino in New York could result in $115 million jackpot for Trump
The Republican stands to win big if state officials award one of three available gaming licenses to Bally鈥檚 Corp., which wants to open a casino at a city-owned golf course that used to be run by Trump鈥檚 company.
In 2023, Bally鈥檚 paid Trump $60 million for the rights to operate the public 18-hole course on the Bronx shoreline, near where the East River meets the Long Island Sound.
The gaming company promptly took down the massive 鈥淭rump Links鈥 sign that was, at one time, all but impossible to miss for drivers going the Whitestone Bridge, and renamed the course Bally鈥檚 Golf Links at Ferry Point.
But under a little-noticed side deal, Bally鈥檚 promised to pay Trump another $115 million if Bally鈥檚 were to get a license to open a casino on site.
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Mass layoffs at HHS bring new worries for the future of the Head Start program
Some of the preschool centers had to close or furlough staff earlier this year because of glitches with a funding website. Now scores of government employees who help administer Head Start have been put on leave.
Preschool operators say they鈥檝e received no communication from the Office of Head Start and don鈥檛 know who to turn to if they have questions about grants.
Head Start is federally funded but run by schools and nonprofits. It serves more than half a million low-income children.
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Tesla sales drop in first quarter as Elon Musk backlash and aging models hurt demand
Tesla sales declined in the first three months of the year, another sign that Musk鈥檚 once high-flying electric car company is struggling to attract buyers.
The drop of 13% is likely due to combination of factors, including its aging lineup, competition from rivals and a backlash from Musk鈥檚 embrace of conservative politics. It also is a warning that the company鈥檚 first-quarter earnings report later this month could disappoint investors.
Tesla reported deliveries of 336,681 globally in the January to March quarter. The figure was down from sales of 387,000 in the same period a year ago. The decline came despite deep discounts, zero financing and other incentives.
Analysts polled by FactSet expected much higher deliveries of 408,000.
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Danish prime minister heads to Greenland as Trump seeks control of the Arctic territory
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is traveling to Greenland on Wednesday for a three-day trip aimed at building trust and cooperation with Greenlandic officials.
Frederiksen announced plans for her visit after U.S. Vice President JD Vance visited a U.S. air base in Greenland last week and in the territory.
Greenland is a mineral-rich, that鈥檚 becoming more accessible because of climate change. Trump has said the landmass is critical to U.S. security. It鈥檚 geographically part of North America, but is a semiautonomous territory belonging to the Kingdom of Denmark.
Frederiksen is due to meet the incoming Greenlandic leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, after an election last month that produced a new government. She鈥檚 also to meet with the future Naalakkersuisut, the Cabinet, in a visit due to last through Friday.
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Trump to hold a meeting on possible investors to buy TikTok with possible ban at stake
Trump will hold a meeting Wednesday with aides about possible investors who could buy a stake in TikTok, a deal that could potentially stop the social media site from being banned in the United States.
The details of the meeting were confirmed by a person familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
There has been uncertainty about the popular video app after a law took effect Jan. 19 requiring its China-based parent, ByteDance, to divest its ownership because of national security concerns. After taking office, Trump gave TikTok a 75-day reprieve by signing an executive order that delayed until April 5 the enforcement of the law requiring a sale or effectively imposing a ban.
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US and Russian officials to discuss plans for ending the Russia-Ukraine war
Trump鈥檚 special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is expected to meet at the White House with a top adviser to Russian leader Vladimir Putin to discuss plans for a Ukraine ceasefire.
A U.S. official said Witkoff, who鈥檚 traveled several times to Moscow for talks with Putin, plans to see Kirill Dmitriev. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting hasn鈥檛 been officially announced.
Dmitriev runs Russia鈥檚 sovereign wealth fund and has been a key interlocutor in discussions between the Trump administration and the Kremlin on numerous issues, including the Ukraine war and the release of American detainees in Russia. The official said the Treasury Department had to temporarily suspend U.S. sanctions on Dmitriev so he could legally travel to the United States.
鈥 Matthew Lee
With a nod to America鈥檚 civil rights legacy, Sen. Cory Booker makes a mark of his own
Democratic Sen. Cory Booker ended the same way he began it, more than 25 hours earlier: by invoking the words of his mentor, the late civil rights icon John Lewis.
鈥淗e endured beatings savagely on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, at lunch counters, on freedom rides. He said he had to do something. He would not normalize a moment like this,鈥 Booker said of Lewis鈥 work as a young activist during the Civil Rights movement. 鈥淗e would not just go along with business as usual.鈥
A break from 鈥渂usiness as usual鈥 was what Booker had in mind as he performed a record-breaking feat of political endurance, holding the Senate floor for 25 hours and 5 minutes while delivering a wide-ranging critique of Trump and his policies.
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The Associated Press
