As expected, President Trump on Wednesday signed an Executive Order, entitled “Regulating Imports with a Reciprocal Tariff to Rectify Trade Practices that Contribute to Large and Persistent Annual United States Goods Trade Deficits,” in which the United States will institute reciprocal tariffs on countries throughout the world.

In comments at the White House’s Rose Garden, Trump described the measure as a “declaration of economic independence,” noting that for years Americans were forced to sit on the sidelines as other nations got rich and powerful, at the expense of the U.S., and stated that it is now the U.S.’s turn to prosper and use trillions of dollars to reduce taxes and pay down the country’s national debt.