Across-the-board tariffs of up to 20% are back on the table ahead of April 2 “Liberation Day”.
Trump Team Weighs Broader, Higher Tariffs
Futures were down sharply overnight on still more conflicting tariff statements from Trump.
As I type the Dow is back in the green and the S&P has recovered most losses.
The Wall Street Journal reports Trump Team Weighs Broader, Higher Tariffs
The Trump administration is scrambling to determine the specifics of its new tariff agenda ahead of its self-imposed deadline of Wednesday, weighing options as the president has promised to remake the American economy with a swath of new levies.
One key point of debate is whether to impose individualized tariff rates for U.S. trading partners, as President Trump has previewed in recent weeks, or revert to his campaign pledge for an across-the-board tariff that would affect virtually every country doing business with the U.S., say people familiar with the conversations.
Trump spent most of last week playing down expectations for his so-called reciprocal tariff plan on April 2, a line he reiterated on Air Force One on Sunday night, saying he would be “much more generous” than his previous pledges to equalize U.S. tariffs with those charged by other nations.
But in recent days Trump has pushed his team to be more aggressive, people familiar with the conversations said, encouraging them to devise plans that would apply higher rates of tariffs on a broader set of countries. Trump reinforced that narrative on Sunday night, saying he would target “essentially all” of U.S. trading partners with tariffs of some kind.
Exactly how that will happen remains unclear. In recent days, advisers have considered imposing global tariffs of up to 20% that would hit virtually all U.S. trading partners. Trump and his team for months promoted such a plan on the campaign trail, before the president publicly ditched it in favor of a so-called reciprocal tariff plan that would mean “what they [other nations] charge us, we charge them,” as the president put it.
That reciprocal plan is also still on the table, an administration official said, adding that the president is inclined to tariff every country that the U.S. runs a trade deficit with, and that he wants a “clean number” for each country, though no final decisions have been made.
Whatever the final plan, the official added, the president wants the policy to be “big and simple.” That likely means the final action will be broader than earlier plans to prioritize levying tariffs on the U.S.’s biggest trading partners, about 15% of the world’s nations, which Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had labeled in media appearances as the “dirty 15.”
In addition to the debate over the reciprocal tariff plan, the president’s team is considering unveiling a slate of new industry-specific tariffs that could hit critical minerals and products that contain them, among other industries, people familiar with the discussions said. It is still unclear if those duties will be unveiled April 2, but they are expected to be included in a trade policy review document that the U.S. trade representative’s office is slated to deliver to Trump on Tuesday, the day before the announcement.
Big and Simple vs 200 Clean Numbers
It seems to me that simple and 200 clean numbers, one for each country the US trades with, plus Trump’s commitment to be generous to certain countries appears to be contradictory.
However, as I have explained previously, contradictions and Trump are impossible. Thus big, simple, specific, hundreds, and changing rates on the fly, are not at all contradictory.
When Will Trump Make Up His Mind?
As we have seen, big and simple is so complex that no one still has any idea what it means.
I happen to have a musical tribute.
“In walks the market and sets Trump in line. Says batter go home son and make up your mind.”
Whatever it, means, I am prepared to be liberated on April 2.
Big and Simple Recap
March 21 2025: Trump’s Tax Hike ‘Liberation Day’ Day Begins April 2. Expect to Suffer
The pre-shocks have begun. But the big shock is on deck.
March 24 2025: Trump Says Auto, Pharma Tariffs Coming Soon, No Date Specified
Trump spun the tariff wheel of fortune for the second time today. This time, it landed on “soon”.
March 24, 2025: Trump Announces 25 Percent Tariffs on Countries that Buy Venezuela Oil
I eagerly await Trump’s major announcement for Venezuela to be the 53rd state.
March 24, 2025: Trump Postpones “Liberation Day” to Focus on the “Dirty 15”
Damn. I was all geared up for liberation.
News Flash: Trump Says “Car Companies Will Be Thrilled With Tariffs”
The word of the hour is “thrilled” by 25 percent tariffs on autos starting April 2.
March 27, 2025: Auto Tariffs Disrupt Industry, Higher prices and Job Losses Loom
For those keeping score, Tesla is a “relative” US winner, but not elsewhere.
March 27, 2025: Second Massive Wave of Imports Shows More Tariff Front Running
The advance import-export data for February is another doozie. Three charts.
Trump Demands No Price Hikes
The height of ridiculousness is Trump Tells Auto CEOs No Price Hikes, Did Comrade Kamala Win?
Given that Trump says tariffs won’t increase prices, it may seem contradictory for Trump to demand CEO not hike prices.
But today it all makes perfect sense. Prices won’t rise because Trump demands they won’t!
If that’s not a simple explanation, then what is?
Then again, Trump apparently has denied saying what he said. So some of you may be confused.
Don’t worry big and simple is coming, no matter how convoluted and complex it may seem.