US Tariffs Will Affect All Nations, According to Trump - Foreign Affairs

On Sunday, President Donald Trump announced that the tariffs he intends to implement in the coming days will affect "all countries," rather than being limited to those with the largest trade deficits with the United States.

Trump is set to declare a "Liberation Day" on April 2, when he will reveal reciprocal tariffs aimed at addressing what his administration considers unfair trade practices. "I'd start with all countries, so let's see what happens," Trump stated to reporters aboard Air Force One, dampening expectations that he might reduce some of the proposed tariffs or that they would focus on a specific group of nations with ongoing trade imbalances.

"I haven't heard any rumors about 15 countries, 10 or 15," he added when questioned about which nations would be impacted. "Essentially all the countries we're discussing. We've been talking about all countries, not just a select few," he clarified, without providing further specifics. The president's upcoming tariffs were anticipated to target the 15 percent of trade partners with persistent imbalances with the United States, a group Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent referred to as the "Dirty 15." However, despite broadening the scope, Trump emphasized that his tariffs would be more "generous" than those imposed on the U.S. "The tariffs will be far more generous than what those countries imposed on us, meaning they will be kinder than the treatment we received from those nations over the decades," he asserted. "They exploited us like no other country in history, and we're going to be much nicer than they were to us. But nonetheless, it will bring in substantial revenue for the country," he explained.
Trump has previously implemented tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, as well as additional tariffs on Chinese goods. Tariffs on imported automobiles are also scheduled to start on April 3. Peter Navarro, Trump's chief trade advisor, mentioned that the tax on auto imports could generate $100 billion annually. "In addition, the other tariffs are projected to raise about $600 billion a year, totaling around $6 trillion over a decade," Navarro told Fox News on Sunday.

Trump's plans to roll out a broad array of reciprocal tariffs risk igniting a global trade war, with other countries already pledging to retaliate. Economists have cautioned that these sweeping measures could lead to inflation and economic downturns. The president has defended the tariffs as a means to increase government revenue and rejuvenate U.S. industry.
Edited by Bosman