WASHINGTON, April 3. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump has declared a state of emergency in the country due to the economic situation and trade deficit, as stated in a document published on the website of the White House.
"Today, President Donald J. Trump declared that foreign trade and economic practices have created a national emergency, and his order imposes responsive tariffs to strengthen the international economic position of the United States and protect American workers," the document says.
As the document notes, "large and persistent annual U.S. goods trade deficits have led to the hollowing out of our manufacturing base; resulted in a lack of incentive to increase advanced domestic manufacturing capacity; undermined critical supply chains; and rendered our defense-industrial base dependent on foreign adversaries."
"President Trump refuses to let the United States be taken advantage of and believes that tariffs are necessary to ensure fair trade, protect American workers, and reduce the trade deficit—this is an emergency," the White House press service said.
On April 2, Trump said that his country would set a minimum customs duty rate on imported goods of 10%. For individual countries, he set individual tariffs. In addition, the US administration will introduce customs duties of 25% on all imported cars from April 3.