Trump orders reciprocal tariffs on countries found to treat US imports unfairly — with EU, India, Japan in crosshairs

WASHINGTON — President Trump ordered reciprocal tariffs placed on countries found to treat US imports unfairly — with the European Union, India and Japan among the targets.

Thursday’s order requires the Office of the US Trade Representative and Commerce Secretary-designate Howard Lutnick to rapidly draft recommendations — with the Office of Management and Budget due to submit a fiscal-impact report within 180 days, possibly after the first levies are already imposed.

“This should have been done years ago,” Trump, 78, told reporters in the Oval Office.

A White House official told reporters that the US will take special aim at India, which the person called “the maharaja of tariffs;” as well as the European Union’s value added tax (VAT) averaging 21.8%, which “works effectively like a tariff;” and Japan, which the official said has steep non-tariff barriers to US imports.

“We expect every country to take action, because it is patently obvious on its face that they are cheating us,” the official said, dissing India’s trade policies mere hours before Trump met with visiting Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House.

“If we can balance our trade, that’s a trillion-dollar gain annually.”

Lutnick and USTR-designee Jamieson Greer will “quickly” draft proposed actions and the retaliatory tariffs will be enacted “in Trump time, which is to say very rapidly…. a matter of weeks or a few months,” the official said.

It’s possible that some of the reciprocal tariff plans won’t be enacted if other countries agree to “correct” their policies, this person went on.

The president previously cited European countries’ VAT tax as a looming target of his trade offensive.

The official explained Germany is exporting more cars to the US due to to “pure mercantilism” — singling out policies of the VAT tax being refunded to car exporters while it is then charged for imports, as well as the fact that Germany currently has a 10% car import tariff versus America’s 2.5%.

BMW’s CEO Oliver Zipse proposed lowering Germany’s car import tariff to 2.5% shortly after Trump took office last month.

“America runs its more than a trillion-dollar pernicious trade deficit,” said White House trader adviser Peter Navarro, “because the major exporting nations of the world attack our markets with punishing tariffs and even more punishing non-tariff barriers.”

“A poster child,” Navarro added, “is the EU’s value added tax, which almost triples the EU’s tariff rate on American exports, even as it heavily subsidizes the EU’s exports.”

The latest trade order also encompasses possible tariffs on countries that are allegedly undervaluing their currency to boost the competitiveness of companies shipping products abroad.

Trump previously has scored concessions by announcing tariffs, including delaying until March 5 the possible adoption of a new 25% tariff on both Canada and Mexico when the countries agreed to bolster efforts to deter illegal immigration and fentanyl smuggling.

His additional plan for a 10% tariff on Chinese imports is proceeding as Beijing prepares for retaliatory levies.

Trump on Monday ordered a flat 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports, ending steel exemptions for the top importing countries and raising a prior 10% rate for aluminum — though the president later said he’s considering allowing Australia to be exempt due to America’s trade surplus with the country.

Additional looming tariffs include plans to slap new charges on copper, computer chips and pharmaceuticals, though Trump hasn’t specified a timeframe.

The early-term tariff initiatives come as the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency project seeks to trim $1 trillion from federal government spending — with actions including the near-total elimination of the US Agency for International Development, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Education Department — with a goal of halving the nearly $2 trillion federal deficit.

About 75,000 federal workers have accepted a buyout offer to leave their posts, according to the White House, while all foreign aid has been paused.

Trump is also pushing Congress to adopt a raft of pricey tax cuts that he campaigned on — including to eliminate taxes on tips, overtime, Social Security benefits and domestic car interest, and scrapping the $10,000 state and local tax deduction.

He’s argued that tariffs could make up the difference in federal revenue, though budget hawks are wary of the fiscal impact.