United States President Donald Trump announced 34 per cent tariffs on Chinese imports on Wednesday, unveiling them as part of a sweeping “Liberation Day” package aimed at reshaping American trade policy. Advertisement Speaking at the White House on Wednesday, Trump said “we’re going to be charging a discounted reciprocal tariff of 34 per cent”. At the event, held in the Rose Garden, Trump held up a chart listing numerous US trading partners, breaking out what he said those countries charged the US in tariffs, then said the US would charge each nation half that much in reciprocal tariffs. He offered no explanation for the calculations used to itemize the other nations’ tariffs. China topped the chart, with Trump first saying it had levied tariffs of 67 per cent on imports from the US. So, he added, the US would charge reciprocal tariffs of 34 per cent. Trump had vowed for months to impose reciprocal tariffs to match other countries’ higher tariff rates for specific goods and offset non-tariff barriers that put US exports at a disadvantage. Advertisement The tariffs, he said, would correct years of “unfair” trade during which other countries had been “ripping off” the US. Trump said the tariffs would take effect on Thursday.