President Donald Trump signed a memorandum on Feb. 13 imposing reciprocal on all major U.S. trading partners.
“I’ve decided, for purposes of fairness, that I will charge a reciprocal tariff, meaning whatever countries charge the United States of America,” Trump said to reporters from the Oval Office. “In almost all cases, they’re charging us vastly more than we charge them, but those days are over.”
He confirmed that there will be no exemptions or exclusions. During his first term, many companies, including Apple, received tariff relief.
The presidential memo requests Commerce Secretary nominee Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative nominee Jamieson Greer to deliver a country-by-country report within 180 days. Additionally, Russell Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, will file a similar report examining the fiscal impact of imposing these levies.
White House officials stressed the European Union’s value-added tax (VAT), which they called a “double whammy” that almost triples the tariff rate on U.S. goods entering the trade bloc.
The EU’s average standard VAT rate is 21.8 percent. “No wonder Germany sells eight times as many cars to us as we do to them, and President Trump is no longer going to tolerate that,” a White House official told reporters on a press call before the president’s announcement.
Related Story
Trump also revealed additional levies on automobiles, pharmaceuticals, and semiconductors “over and above” the reciprocal tariffs. These are expected to be announced later.
The president later wrote on Truth Social that his plan would include provisions for subsidies, non-monetary tariffs, and trade barriers that other countries use.
“America has helped many Countries throughout the years, at great financial cost. It is now time that these Countries remember this, and treat us fairly,” Trump said.
—Andrew Moran
LAWMAKERS AIR DISAGREEMENTS OVER USAID
Republicans and Democrats spent yesterday re-enacting a 1980s beer commercial in the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
In a twist on the “Tastes Great! … Less Filling!” ads for Lite beer, Republicans began with “Wastes Money” to which Democrats replied “Helps People” in a hearing about USAID—the agency that delivers most U.S. foreign assistance.
Republicans allege mismanagement and obstruction of oversight.
Democrats decry the administration’s heavy-handed tactics and defend the need for foreign aid.
The back-and-forth went like this.
“The programs that USAID and the State Department have spent money on are indefensible. They hurt America standing around the globe,” said Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
“These [objections to DEI programs] are distractions meant to obscure the critical work of USAID,” said Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), ranking member of the committee.
“You are funding terrorism,” Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) said, noting that nearly $535 million went to Afghanistan, now run by the Taliban, in 2024.
“You have endangered every American who relies on that system to keep them safe from global crises,” said Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.), speaking of the dismantling of USAID.
“I don’t want a 21-year-old tech bro going through and deciding which programs should continue,” Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.) said, speaking of Elon Musk’s DOGE staffers.
“I don’t understand the objection to a deep dive into how we spend our money,” Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) said.
“This is not about oversight ... It’s about completely gutting foreign assistance itself,” Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) said.
“Why was USAID created in the first place? ... to counter the Soviet Union during the Cold War. I believe it still has a legitimate purpose, to counter ... foreign adversaries,” Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said.
A bright spot in the sometimes tense, nearly five-hour hearing was a note of agreement on two ideas.
Many Republicans agreed that national security depends on strategically providing humanitarian relief and technical assistance to developing countries.
Some Democrats expressed willingness to take a hard look at the way USAID spends money and make changes.
—Lawrence Wilson
BOOKMARKS
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been confirmed as secretary of Health and Human Services, with a vote of 52–48. The vote was entirely along party lines, except for Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who opposed the confirmations of both Kennedy , Tulsi Gabbard, and Pete Hegseth.
Kash Patel, Trump’s nominee for FBI director, has passed a procedural vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee, but still faces two more votes before he can be confirmed. His nomination is contested by many members of the Senate, including Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) who said Patel has “displayed a startling disdain for the agency he’s been nominated to lead.”
Elon Musk is planning to overhaul outdated tech systems in the White House as part of his ongoing quest to improve government efficiency. “The U.S. government runs on a collection of thousands of computers, many of them antiquated, running on very old software, and the computers don’t talk to each other,” Musk said during a virtual appearance at the World Governments Summit in Dubai.
Around 75,000 federal workers have accepted a buyout offer, and will resign with pay and full benefits that last until Sept. 30. The average salary for federal employees is $106,382, putting the estimated annual savings around $7.9 billion.
Baltimore Judge Brendan Hurson on Feb. 13 blocked Trump’s executive order that targeted funding of transgender procedures for those under age 19. Lawyers for the government said the order was meant to push agencies for plans to revoke such funding, rather than immediately cutting it outright.
—Stacy Robinson
