By Chris Menahan – Information Liberation
President Trump announced Wednesday that he will be slapping a 17% tariff on goods from Israel, who has had tariffs on a host of American goods for years despite the US providing them with hundreds of billions of dollars in aid and fighting their wars.
The fact they’re whining about a little import tax while the US is sending them billions of dollars and fighting the Houthis on their behalf is truly hilarious but I would expect no less.
Israel also takes the billions of dollars in aid we send them and uses it to buy US treasuries, effectively lending us back our own money with interest. They were holding $46.1 billion as of last count, according to the US Treasury.
Our real “Liberation Day” will come when we cut them off all together in accordance with the will of the majority of Americans.
The most impactful tariffs on Trump’s list are likely to be the 20% tariff on the EU and what’s apparently going to be a 54% tariff on China.
“Chinese imports will be hit with a 34% tariff, on top of the 20% Trump previously imposed, bringing the total new levy to 54%,” Reuters reports. “Close U.S. allies were not spared, including the European Union, which faces a 20% tariff, and Japan, which is targeted for a 24% rate. The base rates go into effect on April 5 and the higher reciprocal rates on April 9.”
“The effective U.S. import tax rate has shot to 22% under Trump from just 2.5% in 2024, according to the head of U.S. research at Fitch Ratings,” Reuters added. “Canada and Mexico, the two largest U.S. trading partners, already face 25% tariffs on many goods and will not face additional levies from Wednesday’s announcement.”
“The reciprocal tariffs do not apply to certain goods, including copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, lumber, gold, energy and ‘certain minerals that are not available in the United States,’ according to a White House fact sheet.”