What time is the Liberation Day announcement and what will Donald Trump announce on tariffs?
The Scotsman takes a look at what you need to know about today’s White House announcement by Donald Trump on what the US president has branded ‘Liberation Day’
The White House has dubbed it Liberation Day - but others on this side of the Atlantic are braced for the economy derailing and businesses being hammered.
Donald Trump is poised to introduce sweeping global tariffs on all imports to the US later on today. But what exactly can we expect to hear from the US president?
What will be announced?
We do not know the full details, but essentially Mr Trump will introduce tariffs on imports to the US.
Originally Mr Trump had proposed targeting 15 countries, but later comments suggest he favours hitting all countries first and then negotiating exemptions later.
The US president has also hinted there will be a flat 20 per cent rate levied on “all countries”.
Mr Trump is hoping this will encourage US consumers to buy more American-made goods, which in turn will boost the American economy and increase the amount of tax raised.
He also wants to reduce the gap between the value of goods the US imports and those it exports to other countries.
What are tariffs?
Essentially a tariff is a tax charged on goods imported from other countries, and is typically a percentage of a product’s value.
Companies bringing in foreign goods to the country have to pay the tax to the government. This could push prices up as firms can choose to pass on some or all of the costs to customers.
When will it be announced?
We are expecting an announcement from the White House Rose Garden around 9pm BST (4pm EST).
Why is it called Liberation Day?
This is the term Mr Trump and the White House have used.
He is billing it as an event to “Make America Wealthy Again” and to “make America the manufacturing superpower of the world”.
How will any tariffs affect Scotland?
There are fears the announcements will impact Scottish goods exported to the US, particularly Scotch whisky and Scottish salmon.
Economists from the Fraser of Allander Institute at Strathclyde University say Scottish businesses should prepare for “rising costs and escalating geopolitical tension” on the back of the tariff announcement.
First Minister John Swinney is expected to head to New York later this week for the annual Tartan Week celebrations. He says raising concerns about the “damaging” impact of tariffs will be “part and parcel” of his discussions.
Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes also says the threat of further trade tariffs “presents a real challenge for our economy”.
What is the UK government saying?
Foreign Secretary David Lammy says the UK must “prepare for the worst” and Chancellor Rachel Reeves has warned global tariffs will “have an impact on the UK as an open trading economy”.
The Office for Budget Responsibility also warns US tariffs could wipe billions off economic growth and all but eliminate Ms Reeves’s buffer against her own fiscal rules on spending and borrowing.
However, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer says the UK government will take a “calm” approach to Mr Trump’s announcement rather than a “knee-jerk” response.
He did, however, concede that a deal with the US on an exemption for UK goods will not be reached in time for today’s announcement.
The UK’s biggest exports to the US are medical and pharmaceutical products (worth £8.8 billion), cars (£6.4bn), mechanical power generators (£5.2bn), organic chemicals (£2.8bn) and scientific instruments (£2.8bn).
What is the EU saying?
Mr Trump definitely has the EU in sight - the US had a trade deficit of $213bn (£165bn) with the EU in 2024, something the US president has branded “an atrocity”.
The European Commission says it is ready to retaliate against the US and President Ursula von der Leyen says the block would hit back if tariffs go ahead, although she said the EU was still open to negotiations.
EU tariffs on US goods worth over €26bn (£22bn) started yesterday and will be fully in place by April 13.
How will the stock markets react?
Markets hate uncertainty, and the confusion around exactly what will be announced has led to volatility in the markets.
The Asian markets were subdued as they opened on Wednesday and in London the FTSE 100 index lost 20 points. Stock markets in Germany, France and Italy have also fallen by around 0.5 per cent.
The pound has slipped against the dollar to £1.2903 and the euro to $1.0783. Interestingly to note, Mr Trump’s announcement is scheduled for after the US markets close at 4pm EST.
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