The President of the United States, Donald Trump, said on Wednesday that April 2, 2025, will forever be remembered in America’s history.

Trump stated that the date marked “the day American industry was reborn, the day America’s destiny was reclaimed, and the day that we began to make America wealthy again.”

He made these remarks at the White House Rose Garden while unveiling his long-promised, sweeping set of tariffs on imports as part of his “America First” agenda.

Trump claimed that his actions would free the US from dependence on foreign goods.

The new measures include what Trump referred to as “reciprocal tariffs” on “countries throughout the world.”

According to Trump: “My fellow Americans, this is Liberation Day. April 2, 2025, will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America’s destiny was reclaimed, and the day that we began to make America wealthy again.”

This moment had been months in the making for the president, but it comes with significant political and economic risks.

Some experts warn that his actions could drive the economy into a recession, and markets fluctuated ahead of Wednesday’s announcement after weeks of turmoil as Trump’s tariff policy shifted and took shape.

The White House had remained tight-lipped about the details ahead of Wednesday’s announcement, only confirming that the tariffs would take effect immediately upon being revealed.

Just hours before the announcement, Trump and his top advisers were still trying to find common ground.

One senior administration official noted that the situation was “still very fluid” following meetings on Wednesday morning.

Some options debated in recent weeks, according to ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Selina Wang, included a 20 per cent flat tariff rate on all imports; different tariff levels for each country based on their levies on US products; or tariffs on about 15 per cent on countries with the largest trade imbalances with the US.

Wednesday’s tariffs add to levies already imposed by the administration, including on steel and aluminium, as well as certain goods from China, Canada, and Mexico.

Canada has vowed retaliatory tariffs, and Mexico stated it will respond later this week.

The European Union has also announced that it has a “strong plan to retaliate.”