The White House has confirmed that US President Donald Trump will impose new tariffs today. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said reciprocal tariffs on countries that impose duties on US goods would take effect immediately after Trump announces them, while a 25% tariff on auto imports will take effect tomorrow.

Earlier, Trump had labelled April 2nd as Liberation Day, insisting that the levies would free the US from its reliance on foreign goods. He said that all countries would be targeted. He further added it is a bid to boost US manufacturing and punish other countries for what he has said are years of unfair trade practices. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro has stated that the new tariffs would raise 600 billion dollars annually, which would be the largest tax increase since World War II.