US President Trump's Executive Order 14257, Imposing Reciprocal Tariffs
Today is April 2, 2025, signed by President Trump. Executive Order 14257, aka Executive Order Imposing Reciprocal TariffsI'm going to try to summarize it easily. I'd like to share with you the key points I learned while handling the original text for recent translation work!
📌 Executive Order 14257: Why was it issued?
President Trump judged that the US trade deficit was increasing significantly every year, which led to the collapse of manufacturing, the weakening of the defense industry, and increased economic and security risks. In particular, the US had a very low average tariff rate of 3.3%, while major trading partners such as China (7.5%), India (17%), and the EU (5%) had high tariffs and various non-tariff barriers (e.g. import regulations, lack of intellectual property protection, data restrictions, etc.), which he considered unfair.
📌 Summary of Key Contents
✔ Declaration of national emergency
Officially declares the US's massive trade deficit a "state of emergency" for the economy and security.
✔ Reciprocal tariff imposition
All imports are subject to a basic 10% additional duty, with higher customised rates for major countries (see separate Annex I).
✔ Set exception items
Specific items such as steel, aluminum, automobiles, some minerals and energy, and items under the Canada-Mexico USMCA (North American Trade Agreement) are subject to separate regulations.
✔ Goal
Strengthen manufacturing competitiveness, restore supply chains, rebuild the defense-industrial base, and promote jobs and innovation.
💬 What this executive order means
This order goes beyond simply “correcting the trade imbalance”, but is aimed at reviving American manufacturing and strengthening national security. For example, the US is imposing a 2.5% tariff on passenger cars, while the EU is imposing a 10% tariff and India is imposing a whopping 70%. If you are involved in global business, trade, or foreign contracts, you should pay close attention to the impact of this policy change!
