President Trump Unveils 'Liberation Day' Tariffs

Source：AFP

April 3, 2025 -- Today’s top stories: President Trump Unveils 'Liberation Day' Tariffs, Elon Musk's Upcoming Departure from White House Role, China's Boost to Tech Innovation Funding.

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By CommonWealth Magazine
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2025-04-03

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Trump’s “Liberation Day” Reciprocal Tariffs Revealed

U.S. President Donald Trump announced a sweeping new set of reciprocal tariffs on Wednesday, arguing that they would allow the United States to succeed.

Stock futures fell steeply after Trump’s announcement today, reflecting what analysts described as the potentially “horrendous” effects of Trump’s new tariffs on equities markets.

China has been charged with a 34% tariff, while Taiwan sits at 32%. Countries which the supply chains relocated to in recent years have gotten even higher punishment: Vietnam at 46%, Thailand at 36%, and Indonesia at 32%. Furthermore, Malaysia has been hit with 24%, the EU with 20%, Japan with 24%, India with 26%, and South Korea with 25%.

Trump also signed an executive order on Wednesday that closes a trade loophole used to ship low-value packages duty-free from China, known as "de minimis," according to the White House.

The order says Trump is ending duty-free treatment for the covered goods imported from China and Hong Kong starting at 12:01 a.m. ET (04:01 a.m. GMT) on May 2, according to a fact sheet provided by the White House.

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Elon Musk to leave White House role ‘soon’ according to several U.S. media outlets

3 hour(s) ago

(Source: AP)

Elon musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, is set to leave his role in the White House as an advisor and overseer of spending and personnel cuts in the United States administration "soon," according to several U.S. media outlets.

President Donald Trump has tasked Musk to lead efforts to cut government funding and dismantle various U.S. agencies as a special government employee.

Both Trump and Musk decided in recent days that Musk will soon return to his businesses.

Tesla deliveries plummeted by a whopping 13% during the first quarter as its CEO faced public backlash over his work with President Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency.

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China unveils plan to boost financial support for tech innovation

(Source: Bloomberg)

China has unveiled a plan to strengthen financial services for technology-based enterprises as part of the country's efforts to promote integrated advancements in technological and industrial innovation.

The plan, jointly issued by the National Financial Regulatory Administration, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the National Development and Reform Commission, outlines measures to boost financial services including service mechanism establishment, product supply, specialized services, and risk control capabilities.

The plan aims to promote the establishment of a financial service mechanism, supporting parties such as governments at all levels, technology firms, financial institutions, venture capital funds, and third-party intermediary service agencies in building a multi-level technology financial service ecosystem. Efforts will be made to bolster services in technology credit and insurance, promote the pilot projects of technology finance policies, strengthen cooperation with institutions such as venture capital, and support the bond financing of technology-based enterprises including cloud computing, big data, and artificial intelligence to develop digital business tools to enhance operational effectiveness and risk control capabilities.

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