'It's Liberation Day in America': Donald Trump posts on X ahead of tariff plan announcement

US President Donald Trump will announce his tariff plan at 4 PM Eastern Time, April 2 which would be 1:30 AM IST on April 3 for people in India. The event is named ‘Make America Wealthy Again’ and it would take place at the Rose Garden in the White House.  Ahead of the announcement, Trump posted on X: April 2 will be “Liberation Day”.

Trump is scheduled to announce a new set of tariffs in Washington on Wednesday afternoon. Following this, tariffs on automotive products will be implemented on Thursday. Canada has already imposed retaliatory tariffs on various US goods. However, one of the largest categories - American-made autos - has not yet been affected.

The specifics of President Trump's forthcoming round of import tariffs remain unclear. The specific number for the import tax proposed by the White House has not been disclosed. President Trump had previously mentioned a 10% tax on all imports, but has also considered increasing tariffs to 20% or even 60% on products imported from China.

According to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, President Trump is currently in discussions with his trade advisors to finalize the specifics of this plan. Leavitt stated, "He is dedicated to securing the best possible outcome for American workers." A formal announcement regarding this matter is expected to be released soon.

On Wednesday, Wall Street's primary indices declined due to investor concerns over the potential consequences of the extensive tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

At 09:39 a.m., the Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced a decline of 156.51 points, representing a 0.37% decrease, closing at 41,833.45. Similarly, the S&P 500 saw a loss of 26.55 points, or 0.47%, ending at 5,606.52, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped by 99.07 points, or 0.57%, to 17,350.82.

The market downturn affected all 11 S&P 500 sub-sectors, with the consumer discretionary sector leading the losses. This decline was largely attributed to a significant 6% decrease in Tesla shares following the company's report of a 13% decrease in first-quarter performance.