Trump signed the order a week ago, but had to give the US customs and border authorities time to adjust to be able to collect the fees.
Overall, Trump's measures will drive up the average American tariff rate to 15.2 percent, according to an estimate by Bloomberg. Last year, the average was 2.3 percent.
"Billions of dollars, mostly from countries that have taken advantage of the US for many years, who have laughed all the way, will start flowing into the US," writes President Donald Trump in capital letters in a post on his platform Truth Social.
Chaotic months
Trump announced his sweeping tariffs against the rest of the world for the first time on April 2, and the months that followed have been marked by a chaotic mess of new messages from the American president about pauses, exceptions, threats, and new agreements with several countries.
The EU and the US agreed on a trade agreement on July 27, which means American import duties of 15 percent on goods from EU countries, including Sweden. Certain goods, such as steel and aluminum, are exempt from the agreement and much remains to be negotiated.
Other countries have tried until the last minute to get better agreements. The President of Switzerland left Washington on Wednesday without succeeding, the tariff rate remains at 39 percent. Trump also announced on Wednesday that he will punish India in three weeks with twice as high tariffs, 50 percent instead of 25 percent, due to the country's oil purchases from Russia.
Blow to world trade
Negotiations on higher fees on goods from three of the US's largest trading partners - Mexico, Canada, and China - continue on their own tracks.
Trump has also promised to present specific tariffs for several important industries, including pharmaceuticals. Tariffs on microchips and semiconductors can be as high as 100 percent, as long as companies do not invest in the US.
The extensive American tariffs are seen as a significant blow to world trade. Trump has promised that his tariffs will reduce the US trade deficit and get companies to move their production to the US. His critics warn that inflation may get out of control as increased costs for American importers are passed on to consumers.
The US job figures for July showed the steepest decline in employment growth in the US since the pandemic, which has raised concerns on stock exchanges around the world about how hard the tariffs will hit the domestic economy and where the US interest rate is heading.
