Washington plans to announce reciprocal tariffs on Wednesday that will affect "all countries," not just those with the largest trade imbalances with the United States, President Donald Trump said on Sunday.
"We'll start with all the countries, we'll see,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, dismissing the idea that the tariffs would only target a small number of trading partners.
"I haven't heard of 15, 10, or 15 countries," he replied to a journalist who asked about the number of countries involved, after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested targeting the 15% of trading partners with recurring trade imbalances against Washington.
Following tariffs on steel and aluminium, and before the automobile sector, Trump plans to announce his so-called "reciprocal" tariffs on Wednesday, which he says will alter global trade regulations.
On 2 April, Trump plans to impose new trade barriers that will depend on the taxes other countries place on American goods, as well as other factors. "It's essentially all the countries we've discussed," Trump added, without providing further details.
'Generous' tariffs
Trump also stated on Sunday that the tariffs will be more "generous" than those imposed by other countries on the United States.
"The tariffs will be much more generous […] they will be softer than those that these countries have imposed on the United States over the decades."
"These countries have cheated us like no country has ever been cheated in history, and we'll be much kinder than they have been to us," Trump continued.
