President Donald Trump will announce his reciprocal tariff push Wednesday during an event in the White House Rose Garden, his top spokeswoman said.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday the announcement would feature “country-based” tariffs. She said the president is also “committed to implementing” sectoral duties but that they were not the focus of the April 2 event and deferred to Trump about the timing of those. Members of Trump’s Cabinet would attend the announcement, Leavitt said.
“The president will be announcing a tariff plan that will roll back the unfair trade practices that have been ripping off our country for decades,” Leavitt told reporters at the White House. “It’s time for reciprocity and it’s time for a president to take historic change to do what’s right for the American people.”
Leavitt declined to provide details when asked about the rate of the reciprocal tariffs and which countries would be hit. She said there are “no exemptions at this time” in response to a question about whether lower duties would be applied to products used by American farmers.
Trump told reporters Sunday that he plans to launch reciprocal tariffs with “all countries,” countering speculation he could limit the initial scope of his April 2 announcement.
The spokeswoman pointed to examples of tariff rates from the European Union, Japan, India and Canada while speaking to reporters, signaling those entities are likely among the targets of the president’s new levies.
“This makes it virtually impossible for American products to be imported into these markets, and it has put a lot of Americans out of business and out of work over the past several decades,” Leavitt said.
Trump has billed April 2 as the launch of sweeping duties that are the centerpiece of his plan to rebalance global trade, boost U.S. manufacturing and inject tariff revenue into government coffers to fund domestic priorities, including a major tax cut.
The president has preceded Wednesday’s tariff announcement with levies on Canada, Mexico and China — the United States’ three largest trading partners — as well as automobiles, steel and aluminum. Import taxes on copper could come within several weeks. Trump has also threatened tariffs on pharmaceutical, semiconductor and lumber imports.
Uncertainty surrounding his plans, which have often changed and been subject to last-minute carve-outs, have triggered fears they could blow up supply chains and raise prices for U.S. consumers. That angst has fueled a weekslong sell off on Wall Street that extended into Monday.
“Wall Street will work out just fine in this administration, just like they did in the first term,” Leavitt said.
© American Military News
