White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump had decided and would announce the reciprocal import tariffs on the afternoon of April 2 (US time).
Ms. Leavitt affirmed that the tariffs "take effect immediately". However, the White House did not provide further details on the scale and level of the tariffs. The import tariffs on cars also took effect on April 3, as planned.
Earlier, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Republican senators in the Senate that the reciprocal tariffs were a "ceiling" that the US applied to countries. This level could be reduced if trading partners met the Trump administration's requirements.
Since taking office on January 20, Mr. Trump has announced import tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China. He also imposed tariffs on aluminum, steel and cars. However, the US President later withdrew some of the tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods.
This time, Leavitt said Mr. Trump was quite determined. "The president has an excellent team of advisers who have been studying these issues for decades. We are working to bring America back to its glory days," she said at a press conference on April 1.
Mr. Trump's trade policies in the past few months have caused a decline in investment, consumer and business confidence in the US. Economists at the Atlanta Fed cited a recent survey saying that financial executives are worried that import tariffs will force them to raise prices and freeze hiring this year.
The Washington Post on April 1 quoted a source familiar with the matter as saying that US officials plan to impose a 20% tariff on most imported goods, rather than targeting specific countries or products. The new tariffs could add more than $6 trillion to the budget. The money could be refunded to Americans.
Canada said earlier this week it would retaliate against the US tariffs. "We will not put Canadian manufacturers and workers at a disadvantage compared to the US," Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said. US companies have recently complained that Canada's buy-domestic policy makes it harder for them to sell their products here.
The US president has argued for years that American businesses and people are being hurt by free trade agreements, which have caused $3 trillion in imports to flood into the US each year. The trade imbalance between the US and the world has led to a $1.2 trillion goods deficit.
Economists warn that protectionist trade policies will only increase inflation at home and globally. If Mr. Trump increases import tariffs by 20%, the average American household will pay an additional $3,400 a year, according to a Yale University study.