Trump’s tariffs on April 2 will be narrower than previously threatened, sources say
President Donald Trump’s plan for reciprocal tariffs on April 2 is expected to be more targeted and narrower than what the president has vowed in the past, but the plan is still under discussion, sources told ABC News.
The fresh round of duties, however, would still mark a significant escalation for the U.S. and its trading partners. In February, Trump ordered federal agencies to look into virtually every U.S. trading partner in evaluating what reciprocal tariff rate to put on them.
“April 2nd is Liberation Day in America!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “For DECADES we have been ripped off and abused by every nation in the World, both friend and foe. Now it is finally time for the Good Ol’ USA to get some of that MONEY, and RESPECT, BACK. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!”
Trump’s officials have been signaling a more conciliatory tone in recent interviews.
“One of the things we see from markets is they’re expecting ... these really large tariffs on every single country,” Kevin Hassett, Trump’s National Economic Council director, said on Fox News. “I think markets need to change their expectations, because it’s not everybody that cheats us on trade, it’s just a few countries and those countries are going to be seeing some tariffs.”
The administration is focused on trading partners who have major trade imbalances with the U.S., the sources said.
“It’s 15% of the countries, but it’s a huge amount of our trading volume,” U.S. Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent said last week.
Last year, according to federal census data, the U.S. had the biggest trade deficits with China, the EU, Mexico, Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Canada, India, Thailand, Switzerland, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia and South Africa.
Bloomberg previously reported on the altered plans for tariffs. The Trump administration will likely forego sector-specific tariffs on autos, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors that were also previously planned for April 2, The Wall Street Journal reported.
U.S. stocks surged on Monday on the news of narrower tariff plans. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed nearly 500 points, or 1.2%, while the S&P 500 jumped 1.5%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq increased more than 2%.
In recent weeks, Trump's tariffs have roiled markets, stoked recession concerns and heightened worries about inflation. In short order, Trump has paused or reversed some tariffs, casting doubt over his plans and adding to the uncertainty, experts previously told ABC News.
The Trump administration earlier this month slapped 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, though the White House soon imposed a one-month delay for some of those tariffs. A fresh round of duties on Chinese goods doubled an initial set of tariffs placed on China a month prior.
Tariffs imposed on steel and aluminum on March 12 triggered retaliatory tariffs from Canada and the European Union, adding to countermeasures already initiated by China.
Economists widely expect tariffs to increase inflation, since exporters typically pass along a share of the tax to consumers in the form of price hikes.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell last week said Trump’s tariffs are partly to blame for price increases, leveling the criticism minutes after the central bank announced its decision to hold interest rates steady.
Even as the Fed left its main policy lever unchanged, the central bank predicted weaker year-end economic growth and higher inflation than it had in a December forecast.
ABC News' Max Zahn contributed to this report.
