President Donald Trump has signed a presidential memorandum proposing reciprocal tariffs for countries that already have tariffs in place that affect the United States. “If they charge us, we charge them,” Trump told reporters leading up to the announcement on Thursday.
The reciprocal tariffs will be customized for each foreign trading partner, based on five different areas:
- tariffs the nation imposes on U.S. products;
- unfair taxes imposed;
- cost to U.S. businesses and consumers from another country’s policies;
- exchange rates;
- and any other practices the trade representative’s office determines is unfair.
There’s no official date for when the tariffs will be imposed, but White House officials said that Trump wants to move rapidly, suggesting it would be “weeks” and no longer than “a few months” until they are in place, The Hill reported.
- The tariffs will be applied to nations that have a higher tariff rate than the U.S., essentially raising the levies until they match tariffs for every other country.
- Trump’s latest announcement is considered a significant escalation in a trade war between multiple countries and the U.S.
A Tariff Roller Coaster
The global reciprocal tariffs are among a flurry of tariff announcements the president has made in the past three weeks, which PPAI Media has covered with promo perspectives.
- Earlier this week, Trump enacted 25% tariffs on steel imported from every country.
- The week prior, he announced additional 10% tariffs on Chinese imports. He also announced 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico before putting a 30-day pause on that plan.
The uncertainty caused by the whirlwind of tariff news has resulted in temporary congestion and processing delays for Goldstar, PPAI 100’s No. 16 supplier, at the northern border.
“While this has impacted Goldstar deliveries, we’re taking proactive steps to minimize any disruptions,” Heather Smartt, global head of Goldstar, said in an email to customers on Thursday.
“To speed things up, we’ve added more brokers to help with processing and expanded our carrier network to keep shipments moving. At the moment, orders may be delayed by about 48 hours, but we’re doing everything we can to reduce that time and get your order to you as quickly as possible. We know delays are frustrating, and we truly appreciate your patience as we work through this.”
RELATED: ‘Nothing Is Secure:’ Promo Reacts To Tariff Roller Coaster
PPAI, with assistance from our lobbyists at Thorn Run Partners, sent a letter to top congressional leaders on Feb. 6 urging them to work toward a balanced trade policy that protects American interests while ensuring that American businesses, such as those in the promotional products industry, are not disproportionately burdened.
- The Association is sharing the text of its letter so members can download and customize it to send to their own representatives and senators.
- PPAI Media has also written a breakdown of early strategies for promo firms navigating tariffs.
“Distributors across the industry should be exploring alternative sourcing options proactively,” said Jim Stutz, executive vice president of sales, marketing and business development at HALO, PPAI 100’s No. 2 distributor.
“Only after all such mitigating strategies have been exhausted will HPG break out the net impact of tariffs and provide a transparent view of their impact on pricing,” said Chris Anderson, CEO of HPG, PPAI 100’s No. 6 supplier.
For questions or suggestions on regulatory or government affairs issues, please contact Rachel Zoch at RachelZ@ppai.org.
