Washington. Just hours after the order went into effect, President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday imposing “reciprocal” tariffs of between 10 and 41 percent on imports from dozens of countries and territories with which the United States says it has trade deficits, with the exception of Mexico, “for the benefit of American workers.”

According to a statement released by the White House this afternoon, this action reflects the president's continued efforts to protect the United States from foreign threats to national security and the economy by ensuring fair, balanced, and reciprocal trade relations that benefit American workers, farmers, and manufacturers, and strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base.

He indicated that several countries have agreed, or are close to agreeing, to major trade and security agreements with the United States. Some, he noted, have offered terms through negotiations that, in President Trump's view, do not sufficiently address the national emergency he declared on April 2. Others have not even negotiated with the United States.

The new customs tariffs range from 10% to 41%, with the highest for Syria, while the European Union (EU), Japan, and South Korea will be subject to 15%.

Washington increased the surcharges for Costa Rica, Bolivia and Ecuador by 5% to 15%, and kept the surcharges planned in April for Venezuela (15%) and Nicaragua (18%) intact.

He highlighted that the US reached a massive agreement with the European Union, which agreed to buy $750 billion of US energy and make $600 billion in new investments in the US, all by 2028, while accepting a 15 percent tariff rate. Japan agreed to invest $550 billion in the US to rebuild and expand key US industries and further open its own market to US exports, all while paying a base tariff rate of 15 percent.

"These investments position the United States as the world's leading destination for innovation, manufacturing, and economic growth," he emphasized.