Trump Warns of Up to 300% Tariffs Despite Midterm Losses

US President Donald Trump has warned that foreign companies which do not build factories in the United States could face tariffs of up to 300%, signalling no retreat from his trade policy two days after Republicans suffered heavy losses in the November 3 midterm elections, Aju Press reported.

Speaking to reporters at the White House on Thursday, November 5, Trump said more than 3,000 factories and production facilities were being built in the US by foreign companies, according to Aju Press, SBS News and NOCUT News.

Tariffs tied to factory investment

Trump argued that the threat of tariffs was the main reason behind those projects. According to Aju Press, he said 99% of them were prompted by fears of duties as high as 250% on goods made overseas. Companies that build and operate plants in the US would not have to pay tariffs, he said, according to NOCUT News.

He said scrapping the tariffs would halt construction of those plants and leave Americans relying again on imports from China, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines, the reports said. Trump also said bringing production back home would eventually lower prices for consumers, according to Aju Press and SBS News.

Seoul Economic Daily and BigGo Finance noted that Trump did not specify a legal basis, timeline, or which countries and products would be covered, and that no tariff order setting a 300% rate had been issued. Aju Press said the figure appeared to reflect his aggressive rhetoric rather than a specific new measure.

Response to Democrats’ repeal pledge

The remarks were aimed at a pledge by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, seen as the front-runner to become the next House speaker, to eliminate the tariffs within 100 days, Seoul Economic Daily reported.

Pomegra reported that Senator Ron Wyden, set to chair the Senate Finance Committee in January, said there was overwhelming support for repealing tariffs on Canadian products and that Congress must remove the president’s ability to impose tariffs unilaterally.

Earlier in the week, the White House said American manufacturing was surging, citing a report that the sector had expanded for 10 consecutive months, according to Aju Press.

Abroad, Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s trade committee, said US protectionism would not disappear because of the election result and that a politically weakened Trump could become more aggressive and unpredictable, BigGo Finance reported. Citing Reuters, the outlet said some trading partners hope the Republican defeat strengthens their hand in talks with Washington.

What’s next

Trump told reporters that many measures would come over the next week or two, according to SBS News and NOCUT News. BigGo Finance said it was unclear whether this meant new tariffs or procedural details. The outlet said a clash with Congress over trade is expected, while noting that many tariffs can be imposed under presidential authority and that any repeal would face a veto.

Japan and South Korea have pledged US$550 billion and US$350 billion respectively in US investment, BigGo Finance reported, while the trade truce with China expires in January 2027.

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