United States President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that the tariffs he intends to impose in the coming days would apply to “all countries”, not just those with the largest trade imbalances with the US
Trump has promised what he called a “Liberation Day” on April 2, during which he is expected to introduce reciprocal levies aimed at addressing trade practices that his administration views as unfair.
“You’d start with all countries, so let’s see what happens,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, dispelling expectations that he might reduce the scope of the threatened tariffs or limit them to a select group of countries with significant trade imbalances.
When asked which nations would be affected, Trump responded: “I haven’t heard a rumor about 15 countries, 10 or 15.” He further clarified: “Essentially all of the countries that we’re talking about. We’ve been talking about all countries, not a cutoff,” without providing additional details.
Initially, it was anticipated that Trump’s tariff measures would primarily target the 15 percent of trade partners that consistently maintain trade imbalances with the United States—a group Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent previously referred to as the “Dirty 15.”
Despite broadening the scope of the tariffs, Trump maintained that his measures would be more lenient than those imposed against the United States.
“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,” he said.
He added, “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.”
Trump has previously imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, as well as additional levies on goods imported from China. Furthermore, tariffs on imported automobiles are set to take effect on April 3.
Peter Navarro, Trump’s top trade adviser, stated that the tax on auto imports could generate $100 billion annually. “And in addition, the other tariffs are going to raise about $600 billion a year, about $6 trillion over a 10-year period,” Navarro said during an interview on Fox News Sunday.
However, Trump’s intention to introduce a wide array of reciprocal tariffs has raised concerns about sparking a global trade war, as other countries have already pledged to retaliate. Economists also warn that the sweeping measures could lead to inflation and potentially cause an economic downturn.
Defending his decision, Trump argued that the tariffs would help raise government revenue and revitalize American industry.
