Jaguar Land Rover presses ‘pause’ on US export as Donald Trump’s 10% ‘baseline tariffs’ commences | 10 key highlights

Trump Tariffs: US President Donald Trump's “baseline” tariffs have come into effect globally on Saturday, April 5, as tensions rise about the escalating trade war between the United States and other nations.

According to multiple media reports, the initial 10 per cent “baseline” tariffs came into effect for US airports, seaports, and custom warehouses at 12:01 a.m. (EDT) on Saturday, April 5.

Australia, Britain, Colombia, Argentina, Egypt and Saudi Arabia are among the first nations to be hit with the 10 per cent tariffs, with no grace period for ships and cargo on the US waters at midnight on Saturday.

Here are 10 highlights from the ongoing trade war

1. Trump's response to stock market crash: US President Donald Trump on Saturday hailed the US tariffs on other nations even after the stock market crash, which wiped out more than $5 trillion in market cap, the biggest fall since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Calling it a “$5 trillion of investment” and “economic revolution,” Trump reassured the people of America and investors to “hang tough” through this phase, which he estimates will not be easy. Donald Trump aims to make America great again with this tariff war.

2. Jaguar Land Rover ‘pause’ shipments: After the announcement of the reciprocal tariffs, UK-based Tata Group-owned car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover, in a statement cited by AFP, said that they are putting a “pause” on their shipments to the United States as the “new trading terms” come into effect.

“The USA is an important market for JLR's luxury brands. As we work to address the new trading terms with our business partners, we are enacting our short-term actions including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid- to longer-term plans,” said the company in a statement, as per the agency report.

3. China's reaction on market crash: Earlier on Saturday, Chinese Foreign Ministry reacted to the US stock market and said that the United States should stop doing the “wrong things” and work to resolve its differences with its trading partners.

“Now is the time for the U.S. to stop doing the wrong things and resolve the differences with trading partners through equal-footed consultation,” said the spokesperson Guo Jiakun in a Facebook post.

China also termed Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs as “unprovoked and unjustified.”

4. 10% tariffs on UK products: Donald Trump's 10 per cent tariffs on UK products also came into effect on Saturday, right after global stock markets and investors continued to show signs of concern about the escalating trade war between the US and other world nations.

FTSE 100 plummeted on Friday, along with the Dow Jones, which registered more than 2,200 points drop. The US markets witnessed its biggest drop since the world was hit by the pandemic in 2020.

5. US President on Fed rate cuts: Donald Trump on Friday urged US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to cut the key benchmark interest rates as he cited lower energy prices and low inflation along with growth in job rates.

6. China's 34% additional tariffs: China on Friday announced 34 per cent additional tariffs on all imports from the United States as a counter-move against US President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariff announcement on April 2.

The additional tariffs from China will be effective from April 10.

“The purpose of the Chinese government's implementation of export controls on relevant items in accordance with the law is to better safeguard national security and interests, and to fulfill international obligations such as non-proliferation,” said the Commerce Ministry of China, reported the news agency Reuters.

7. India in talks with US over trade deals: India, along with two other nations, Israel and Vietnam, are seeking fast-track trade talks ahead of the tariff deadline. The nations are trying to negotiate a bespoke trade deal with the United States.

8. Italian economy minister's retaliation: The economy minister of Italy, Giancarlo Giorgetti, on Saturday, April 5, said that they will be avoiding a policy on counter-tariffs which can likely be harmful for everyone.

“We should avoid launching a policy of counter-tariffs that could be damaging for everyone and especially for us,” said Giorgetti, reported the news portal The Guardian.

9. Vietnam's Zero-Tariff: US President Donald Trump, in his social media platform Truth Social, said that the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam wants to cut their tariffs down to zero if they are able to make an agreement with the US.

10. India's tariff woes: Donald Trump imposed 26 per cent tariffs on India, on top of the 10 per cent baseline tariffs. After the baseline tariffs effective April 5, India is set to witness the country-specific duty of 26 per cent on Wednesday, April 9.