Trump orders reciprocal tariffs on all countries

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday enacting a reciprocal tariff policy for all current and potential U.S. trading partners.

The president said the U.S. will match all tariffs implemented against it now or in the future by other countries.

“In other words, they charge us a tax or tariff, and we charge them the exact same tax,” Trump said in an Oval Office news conference. 

The policy will target tariffs and taxes for U.S. products, including the value-added tax, and “any unfair limitation on market access” for U.S. businesses, according to a White House memo emailed to Supply Chain Dive.

Under the new policy, following the trade review the president ordered on Jan. 20, government officials, including the Secretary of Commerce and U.S. Trade Representative, will conduct a country-by-country investigation to identify any non-reciprocal trade agreements. Officials will then submit a report to the president with proposed remedies, per the memo.

The actions taken today are an alternative to a standardized tariff rate for all countries, Jonathan Todd, vice-cha…