Trump's higher tariffs take effect on imports from dozens of countries
The higher so-called 'reciprocal' tariffs, announced last week in an executive order, were being collected by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency from 00:01 EDT (04:01 GMT) on Thursday, following months of negotiations with major trading partners.
The US duties range from 50 percent on goods from Brazil to 10 percent on imports from the United Kingdom.
Ahead of the deadline, Trump lauded the 'billions of dollars' that will flow into the US as a result of the increased duties. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent has said that tariff revenues could top $300bn a year.
'THE ONLY THING THAT CAN STOP AMERICA'S GREATNESS WOULD BE A RADICAL LEFT COURT THAT WANTS TO SEE OUR COUNTRY FAIL!' Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Imports from many countries had previously been subject to a baseline 10 percent import duty after Trump paused higher rates announced in early April.
But since then, Trump has frequently modified his tariff plan, slapping some countries with much higher rates, including 50 percent on goods from Brazil, 39 percent on Switzerland, 35 percent on Canada and 25 percent on India.
Trump announced on Wednesday that he would increase tariffs on India to 50 percent later this month unless it stops buying Russian oil.
The US president says the tariffs are a response to trade practices Washington deems unfair. However, some companies and industry groups have warned that the new levies will hurt smaller US businesses, while some economists have cautioned that they could fuel inflation and affect long-term growth.
Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher said the hike in tariffs on Brazil will likely affect the US coffee industry, which was already grappling with rising prices due to weather-related shortages.
'Many [US] companies source their coffee in Brazil, not just the big chains, but smaller places [too],' said Fisher.
The US has a trade surplus with Brazil, leading many to believe that the tariffs are Trump's attempt to punish Brazil for prosecuting his ally, former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is accused of trying to stage a coup, said Fisher.
'Winners and losers'
Eight major trading partners accounting for about 40 percent of US trade flows have reached deals with Trump, including the European Union, Japan and South Korea, setting their base tariff rates at 15 percent.
The UK agreed to a 10 percent rate, while Vietnam, Indonesia, Pakistan and the Philippines secured rates of 19 or 20 percent.
Trump's order has specified that any goods determined to have been transshipped from a third country to evade higher US tariffs will be subject to an additional 40 percent import duty, but details on enforcement are unclear.
According to John Diamond, an analyst at the Center for Tax and Budget Policy at the Baker Institute, the tariffs will likely leave US consumers with fewer choices in the number of goods, as well as higher prices for those goods.
'I think you're going to see that there's winners and losers, and you're going to see that there's a lot of inefficiency with political kickbacks and political punishments for adversaries,' Diamond told Al Jazeera.
The US president also announced late on Wednesday that he will impose a 100 percent tariff on foreign-made semiconductors, although exemptions will be made for companies that have invested in the US.
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