Trump has promised a “Liberation Day” on Wednesday, when he is set to unveil reciprocal levies to address trade practices that his government deems unfair.
“You’d start with all countries, so let’s see what happens,” he said onboard Air Force One, dashing hopes he might scale back some of the threatened levies or that they would target a select group with persistent trade imbalances.
“I haven’t heard a rumor about 15 countries, 10 or 15,” he said when asked which nations would be affected.
“Essentially all of the countries that we’re talking about.
“We’ve been talking about all countries, not a cutoff.”
Trump’s upcoming tariff salvo had been expected to target the 15 percent of partners that have persistent trade imbalances with the United States, a group Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called a “Dirty 15.”
But despite widening the target, the president insisted his tariffs would be more “generous” than those levied 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.
“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 already slapped tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and additional levies on imports from China.
Tariffs on imported autos are also due to take effect on Thursday.
Trump’s top trade aide Peter Navarro said the tax on auto imports could raise US$100 billion a year.
“And in addition, the other tariffs are going to raise about US$600 billion a year, about US$6 trillion over a 10-year period,” Navarro said on Sunday.
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.
Trump has defended the levies as a way to raise government revenue and revitalize US industry. (AFP)
