US President Donald Trump, speaking at the White House, announced that he is imposing duties on US imports of 10%, as well as additional duties on most countries around the world. Moldova is among the countries that are subject to the new measures – customs duties for Moldovan products will amount to 31%. This tariff is one of the highest among the announced tariffs. Russia and Mexico were not included in the list of countries subject to additional tariffs, radiomoldova.md reported citing reuters.com. China, the world’s second largest economy, will face duties of 34%, the European Union (EU) – 20% and Japan – 24%. The measures will be phased in: a basic tariff of 10% will be applied from 5 April and additional tariffs from 9 April. Donald Trump proclaimed 2 April as “America’s Economic Liberation Day” and said the measure would restore US financial sovereignty. “This will be a game changer not only for the US economy but for the entire global economy,” said Olu Sonola, director of research at Fitch Ratings. He said the effective tax rate on imports in the US has risen from 2.5% in 2024 to 22$ now, a level not seen since 1910. At the same time, Trump signed an executive order cancelling the “de minimis” rule, which allowed imports of goods worth up to $800 without customs duties, mainly from China and Hong Kong. The measure, which comes into effect on 2 May, is justified by the need to combat fentanyl smuggling, the US administration said.