Donald Trump to announce ‘Liberation Day’ plan at Rose Garden Event

US President Donald Trump signs an executive order alongside singer Kid Rock at the White House. Pic/AFP

US President Donald Trump will unveil a new tariff plan today, which he has dubbed "Liberation Day", in his first Rose Garden press conference of his second term, CNN reported. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on Monday that the full cabinet will be present for the event.

"If you look at the unfair trade practices, we have 50 per cent (tariff) from the European Union on American dairy and a 700 per cent from Japan on American rice. You have a 100 per cent tariff from India on American agricultural products and nearly 300 per cent from Canada on American butter and cheese. This makes it virtually impossible for US products to be imported into these markets and it has put a lot of Americans out of business and out of work over the past several decades," she said.

‘India will drop its tariffs'

President Trump on Tuesday said that he has heard that India was dropping its tariffs on American goods substantially. "I think I heard that India just a little while ago is going to be dropping its tariffs very substantially and I said why didn't somebody do this a long time ago," he said.

‘EU holds a lot of trade cards'

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned the US that the world's biggest trade bloc "holds a lot of cards" when it comes to dealing with the new tariffs and has a good plan to retaliate if forced to. "Europe holds a lot of cards, from trade to technology to the size of our market. But this strength is also built on our readiness to take firm counter measures," she said.

Japan to push for exemption

Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said his government is making efforts to get Trump to exclude his country from an increase in auto tariffs due to take effect today. Ishiba said he is willing to fly to Washington to negotiate directly with Trump.

Taiwan plans response

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te convened a high-level meeting on Sunday night with senior government officials to discuss Taiwan's strategy ahead of the expected tariff announcement. Taiwan officials have emphasised that the trade surplus stems from strong demand for Taiwanese technology, not unfair trade practices.

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