Investing – U.S. President Donald Trump will impose the highest possible reciprocal tariffs on major trading partners on April 2, and it will fall to the targeted countries to bring down the duties, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told lawmakers on Tuesday, according to CNBC.
Bessent said that Trump’s April 2 tariffs will serve more as a cap, and that the targeted countries can pass measures to meet U.S. demands and bring down the rate, CNBC’s Emily Wilkins reported, citing Congressman Kevin Hern.
The Trump administration said that the tariffs will be effective immediately, while Trump also recently warned that he will start with universal tariffs.
A report from the Washington Post said Trump was considering imposing duties on roughly 20% of imports coming into the country.
The U.S. President has repeatedly touted April 2 as “liberation day,” and is set to announce his most sweeping round of tariffs yet on Wednesday.
Trump is expected to impose tariffs based on the duties levied by other countries on U.S. imports, with any reduction in said duties set to result in lower U.S. tariffs.
A so-called “dirty 15” countries- which have large trade surpluses with the U.S., will be the most targeted, recent reports showed. China, Japan, India, Canada, Mexico, and Germany, are likely to face higher tariffs.
Trump’s 25% duties on automobiles are also set to take effect from April 2, while the President could also impose tariffs on other sectors such as select commodities, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals.
