President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs kicked in just after midnight Wednesday, jolting global trade with a minimum 10% tax on nearly all U.S. imports and steeper levies targeting nations with trade surpluses. The bold move, branded “Liberation Day” by Trump on April 2, escalates tensions, with China facing a staggering 104% combined tariff rate—among the highest in modern U.S. history.

The baseline 10% tariff, effective since Saturday, now pairs with higher rates rolled out today, ranging from 11% to 50%. Small economies like Lesotho bear the brunt at 50%, while Madagascar faces 47%, Vietnam 46%, Taiwan 32%, South Korea 25%, Japan 24%, and the European Union 20%. China’s 104% levy stacks a new 50% tariff—prompted by Beijing’s retaliatory threats—onto a 34% rate announced last week and 20% from earlier this year.

Trump defends the tariffs as a fix for decades of unfair trade, aiming to revive American manufacturing. Yet, critics warn of soaring consumer prices and global retaliation, with markets already jittery. As the world’s top economies hunker down for a potential trade war, Trump’s gamble could reshape supply chains—or spark economic chaos—before his term’s end.