Washington, April 3 (NationPress) US President Donald Trump unveiled a standard rate of 10 percent on all imports, alongside elevated individual rates for numerous nations, including 26 percent for India, 34 percent for China, and 20 percent for the EU.

The tariffs represent half of what the US considers the duties imposed by trading partner nations on American goods, totaling both tariffs and non-monetary barriers. Trump emphasized that the reduced rates reflect the fact that Americans are "kind" individuals.

Other nations facing higher tariffs include the UK, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, the EU, Vietnam, Cambodia, Switzerland, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Many of these targeted countries are US treaty allies; however, Trump stated that friends have been more unfair to the US in trade than adversaries, reiterating his longstanding grievances with nations that have significant trade surpluses or impose high import duties on US goods.

"India, very, very tough," President Trump remarked on Wednesday, as he referenced the new tariffs from a chart provided by Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick during the announcement.

"Very, very tough. The Prime Minister just left. He's a great friend of mine, but I said, 'You're a friend of mine, but you're not treating us right'. They charge us 52 percent. You have to understand that we charge them almost nothing."

The Indian tariff on US imports, as calculated by the US, follows a method that incorporates both monetary and non-monetary barriers. The new American tariff on imports from India was set at half, 26 percent.

Trump's comments referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the White House in February, one of Trump's first foreign guests. While he has expressed admiration for the Prime Minister and their camaraderie, he has not been willing to relent.

He clarified why the reciprocal tariffs are not as dreaded. "Because we are being very kind, we're kind people, very kind," Trump explained about the new tariffs. "We will charge them approximately half of what they are and have been charging us, so the tariffs will not be reciprocal. I could have done that, I guess, but it would have been tough for a lot of countries who didn't want to do that."

Referencing the chart, Trump stated that the Chinese tariff on US imports amounted to 67 percent, "so we're going to be charging a discounted reciprocal tariff of 34 percent, I think; in other words, they charge us, we charge them, we charge them less."

Regarding the EU, a group of 27 European nations, of which 23 are NATO members, he commented, "They're very tough, very, very tough traders. You know, you think of the European Union, very friendly. They rip us off. It's so sad to see. It's so pathetic. 39 percent we're going to charge them. 20 percent, so we're charging them essentially half."

Trump noted that Vietnam has "great negotiators, great people. They like me. I like them. The problem is they charge us 90 percent. We're going to charge them 46 percent tariff."

As for Taiwan, he remarked, "took all of our computer chips and semiconductors. We used to be the king, right? We were everything. We had all of it. Now we have almost none of it, except the biggest company is coming in. They're going to have, we're going to end up with almost 40 percent."

In framing the announcement, Trump declared, "April 2, 2025, will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America's destiny was reclaimed, and the day that we began to make America wealthy again. Going to make it wealthy, good and welcome. For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike."

He previously referred to the day as "Liberation Day" to characterize the event.

Trump sees the reciprocal tariffs and other tariffs he has introduced as mechanisms for diminishing the trade deficit with trading partners, revitalizing US manufacturing, compelling trading nations to reduce their duties on American products, and eliminating trade barriers to grant American companies increased access to foreign markets.

The American President has announced four rounds of tariffs thus far: a 25 percent tariff on all steel and aluminum imports, a 25 percent tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, a 10 percent tariff on China, and a 25 percent duty on all imported cars, trucks, and auto parts. He has indicated potential for more sector-specific tariffs, such as those on pharmaceuticals.