00:00Smiles and cheers at the White House as U.S. President Donald Trump announces sweeping
00:07tariffs on dozens of countries.
00:09My fellow Americans, this is Liberation Day, waiting for a long time.
00:16Trump slapping a baseline 10 percent tariff on all U.S. trading partners, and even double
00:20or triple that on places the U.S. views as major economic competitors, like China, Japan
00:26and the European Union.
00:28For months, countries have been scrambling to negotiate with Trump to stymie his calls
00:31for tariffs, and the announcement has left many world leaders reeling.
00:36The administration's tariffs have no basis in logic, and they go against the basis of
00:42our two nations' partnership.
00:44This is not the act of a friend.
00:46Australia has a trade deficit with the U.S., but says it will not impose reciprocal tariffs,
00:52saying the costs of doing so are a burden on domestic consumers.
00:56Meanwhile in London, the government is still hoping to strike a trade deal with the U.S.
01:00to deter escalation.
01:02The government has been really clear that we're going to approach this in a clear-headed
01:07way and always represent the national interest.
01:10It's why myself and the business and trade secretary met with big U.K. exporters this
01:16morning.
01:17They don't want government to rush into any response because the prize on offer is an
01:23economic agreement.
01:24The EU, which received a 20 percent tariff, is also considering its own tariffs on American
01:29services in the finance, travel and medical industries.
01:33This could severely impact the U.S., which is the largest exporter of services in the
01:37world.
01:38But Trump has his own suggestions for clearing the tariffs and promoting American industry.
01:43If they complain, if you want your tariff rate to be zero, then you build your product
01:48right here in America, because there is no tariff if you build your plant, your product
01:52in America.
01:53Terminate your own tariffs, drop your barriers, don't manipulate your currencies.
01:59They manipulate their currencies like nobody can even believe, which is a bad, bad thing
02:04and very devastating to us, and start buying tens of billions of dollars of American goods.
02:13But back in the U.S., some American consumers are afraid that they will be the ones bearing
02:18the brunt of the new tariffs if domestic production can't keep up.
02:22I mean, I think everybody's already seen the effect of tariff, especially, like, if
02:27you have any money in the stock market, you've lost some money.
02:31I think everybody's anticipating prices going up, and it's kind of the last thing we need
02:35right now, because we're already dealing with inflation.
02:38You know, it's not the America that I grew up under.
02:41You know, you go out there, you work hard.
02:43You know, you come home, you take care of your family.
02:46You know, whatever he's doing, I guess he knows what he's doing, but I guess he don't
02:50know what he's doing, but we'll find out.
02:53Trump has touted his economic policy as an America-first strategy, but as the tariffs
02:58take effect in the next few days, the world will be watching closely to see if that turns
03:02out to be true.
03:03Patrick Chen and Tiffany Wong for Taiwan Plus.
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