Trump advisers mull 20% tariff on all US trade partners: Report
Donald Trump said that the tariffs he plans to impose in the coming days will apply to “all countries”.
With the April 2 deadline fast approaching, the Trump administration is rushing to finalise the details of the retaliatory tariffs US President Trump intends to impose, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
In recent days, advisers have considered imposing global tariffs of up to 20%, which would affect virtually all of the United States's trading partners, according to the report.
On Sunday, Trump himself said that the tariffs he plans to impose in the coming days will apply to “all countries,” Bloomberg reported.
“You’d start with all countries, so let’s see what happens,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
He has also dubbed April 2 – when he would unveil reciprocal tariffs – as “Liberation Day”.
When asked which nations would be affected by the tariffs, Trump said,“I haven't heard a rumour about 15 countries, 10 or 15…Essentially all of the countries that we're talking about. We've been talking about all countries, not a cutoff."
Trump insisted his tariffs would be more "generous" than those levied against the United States.
Also Read | Trump promises 'Liberation Day' on April 2 with tariffs on trade partners: What we know
"The tariffs will be far more generous than those countries were to us, meaning they will be kinder than those countries were to the United States of America over the decades," Trump said, according to AFP.
"They ripped us off like no country has ever been ripped off in history and we're going to be much nicer than they were to us. But it's substantial money for the country nevertheless," he added.
Trump is yet to outline the specifics of his next round of tariffs, but analysts anticipate his actions will target roughly 15% of the US's trade partners, a group treasury secretary Scott Bessent has dubbed the "Dirty 15."
Also Read | How India is bracing for Donald Trump’s ‘reciprocal tariffs’ as US plans trade crackdown on ‘all countries’
This list, previously flagged by the US Trade Representative (USTR) in past investigations, includes major economies like China, the European Union, Mexico, Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and Canada.
Trump's plans to unleash a wide range of reciprocal tariffs risk a global trade war, with other countries already vowing to retaliate and economists warning the sweeping moves risk stoking inflation and triggering a downturn.
