The White House announced a list of tax percentages on imports from all countries, with a 10 percent baseline tax.

U.S. President Donald Trump has announced his universal and reciprocal tariffs on all countries in a move that has sparked concerns of a potential global trade war during his second term in office.

The “Liberation Day Reciprocal Tariffs” include a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from Qatar and other GCC nations.

U.S. total goods trade with Qatar was an estimated $5.6bn in 2024.

According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), Qatar exported $2.1bn worth of goods to the United States in 2023. The main products exported were refined petroleum, nitrogenous fertilisers, and raw aluminum.

Over the past five years, Qatar’s exports to the U.S. have grown at an annualized rate of 5.97 percent, increasing from $1.57bn in 2018 to $2.1bn in 2023.The newly announced universal tariffs will come into effect on Saturday, and reciprocal tariffs on new imports of foreign-produced goods are set to become active on April 9.

“For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike,” the U.S. president said during remarks made at the White House.

The new measure, Trump described, is his government’s “declaration of economic independence”.

Allies and adversaries alike will face tariffs

Trump’s latest bid to lift U.S. manufacturing could sour decades-old alliances with countries as both allies and rivals will be hit with tariffs.

Tariff rates range from 10 percent to over 49 percent. Among the most prominent countries affected by the taxes include Cambodia at 49 percent, China at 34 percent, Syria at 41 percent, Vietnam at 46 percent, and Iraq at 39 percent.

Tariffs to China will come into effect in addition to taxes the nation has already been hit with, raising its rate to 54 percent.

Among the largest trade partners with the U.S., the European Union will adhere to a 20 percent tax.

Nations dealt with the heaviest tax blows were implied to be “nations that treat us badly,” Trump added.

A White House spokesperson confirmed that Trump has also signed an order eliminating “de minimis” tariff exemptions for low-cost products.

In the first three months of his presidency, Trump imposed a 25 percent tax on auto imports, an additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods, and a 25 percent tax on steel and aluminum imports.

Furthermore, the U.S. president implemented a 25 percent tariff on all products from Canada and Mexico that do not fall under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.