President Donald Trump said he is considering a more targeted slate of reciprocal tariffs on April 2 than previously expected.
Trump has called April 2, when the tariff policy is to be revealed, “Liberation Day,” and could include broad reciprocal tariffs to match duties that other countries charge on U.S. imports.
The White House said the tariffs set to begin April 2 likely won’t be as wide-ranging as previously planned.
“I may give a lot of countries breaks. It’s reciprocal, but we might be even nicer than that. You know, we’ve been very nice to a lot of countries for a long time,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday, according to The Hill.
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Trump’s reciprocal plan calls for imposing tariff rates on all countries that have tariffs on U.S. goods. But the Trump administration has not made clear which goods and specific countries it will impose tariffs on beginning April 2.
The countries the White House could be targeting for reciprocal tariffs could be “the Dirty 15” – countries that persistently treat the U.S. unfairly in their trading practices, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business.
Among those could be Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia and Vietnam.
While Trump said he may soften the impact of reciprocal tariffs, the plan will likely include additional tariffs on imports of autos, aluminum, lumber, pharmaceuticals and semiconductor chips.
The administration “will be announcing some additional tariffs over the next few days having to do with automobiles, cars – and also having to do a little bit with lumber down the road – lumber and chips,” Trump told reporters Monday, according to Morningstar.
Trump also said during a cabinet meeting Monday, “We’ll be announcing pharmaceuticals at some point in the not-too-distant [future] because we have to have pharmaceuticals,” Politico reported.
On Monday, Trump also said he is placing a 25% tariff on all imports from any country that buys oil or gas from Venezuela, along with imposing new tariffs on the South American country.
“Venezuela has been very hostile to the United States and the Freedoms which we espouse. Therefore, any Country that purchases Oil and/or Gas from Venezuela will be forced to pay a Tariff of 25% to the United States on any Trade they do with our Country,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
The U.S. was the No. 2 global importer of Venezuelan oil in 2024, totaling 233,000 barrels per day, according to data obtained by CNBC from Kpler. China was the No. 1 importer of Venezuelan oil last year, averaging 270,000 barrels per day.
Trump has already imposed 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports from all countries, along with a 20% duty on Chinese goods.
Canada and Mexico could face broader 25% tariffs on April 2 after a roughly 30-day pause was announced March 6.
For the past 18 days, importers weren’t required to pay tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico that adhered to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.