President Donald Trump on Wednesday will reveal in the Rose Garden White House what is expected to be a broad -based “reciprocal tariff” on imports as part of his “first American” agenda.
It has been a few months in making a president who has repeatedly collected him as “Liberation Day,” claiming it will free the US from dependence on foreign goods and say “we will regain a lot of wealth that we foolishly send down to other countries.”
Although only a few hours before the announcement, Trump and his main advisor still tried to find some similarities where they agreed.
“It’s all still very liquid,” said a senior administrative official on Wednesday morning after a meeting on the topic.
The announcement of the tariff is a serious political bet for Trump, who is walking back to the White House is not a small part because of his promise to improve the economy.
“April 2, 2025, will go down as one of the most important days in modern American history,” Press Secretary of the White House Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday.
Some economists, however, have caused fears of their movements to cause the economy to slide into the recession and the market that rushed before the announcement on Wednesday, scheduled for 4 pm, after the market ended in trade.
In November 13, 2020, photo files, President Donald Trump spoke at Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, DC
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images, File
The White House has become a mother about the details ahead of the announcement on Wednesday, only confirming that the tariff will begin immediately after being announced.
Some of the options debated in recent weeks, Senior Correspondent ABC News Gedung White Gedung Selina Wang reported, is a 20% flat rate for all imports; different rates for each country based on their levies on US products; or a tariff of around 15% of countries with the largest trade imbalance with the US
Trump still met his tariff team on Tuesday to complete the details, Leavitt said, “perfecting” policies “to ensure this is a perfect agreement for the American people and American workers.”
Since its inauguration, Trump has implemented levies on certain products, including steel and aluminum. He also imposed several tariffs of goods from China, Canada and Mexico.
This action has stiffened the relationship with Canada and Mexico, two main allies and neighbors. Prime Minister Mark Carney said that last week the US and Canadian relations on economic, security and military issues effectively ended.
Canada has sworn in retaliation rates and Mexico said that he would give his response this weekend. The European Union, also, said he had “a strong plan to reply.”
But Trump and Administrative officials are plowing full steam ahead, for the reason that America is not fair “cheated” by other countries for years and this is the time for reciprocity.
“This is simple: If you make your product in America, you will not pay the tariff,” Leavitt said on Tuesday.
Cargo trucks to us at Otay Commercial Crossing in Tijuana, Baja California State, Mexico, March 27, 2025.
Guillermo Arias/AFP via Getty Images
The economy is the top edition for voters in the 2024 presidential election, with Americans blaming President Joe Biden at a high price and Trump promised to bring family financial assistance.
Administration has painted tariffs as a panacea for a large economy, on the grounds that the pain experienced in the short term will be balanced with what they predict will be a big encouragement in manufacturing, work growth and government income.
But it is unclear how much concession is willing to be given by the public to pass Trump to pass what he calls “a little disturbance.”
Already, a little more than two months entered Trump’s second term, the poll showed that economic treatment was welcomed with a pushback.
Associated Press-Norc Public Affairs Research Center Survey Published on Monday found the majority of Americans (58%) disagreeing on how Trump had handled the economy.
In their protectionist trade negotiations with other countries, in particular, 60% of Americans said they did not approve of their approach so far. That is the weakest problem in the poll among the Republican parties.
GOP Trump allies in Capitol Hill said they put confidence in the President, but acknowledged some uncertainty to start.
“This might be Rocky at first, but I thought this would make sense for Americans and that would help all Americans,” DPR Speaker Mike Johnson said at his weekly press conference with other Republican leadership members.
“You will see the price shifting,” Rep. Rich McCormick, a Republican Georgia, told ABC News Jay O’Brien’s correspondent. “We are responsible to Americans. We represent them, if they speak loud enough … I think the President is very good at reacting to the public.”
DPR speaker Mike Johnson took a question about the tariff when meeting with reporters at a press conference, in Capitol, in Washington, April 1, 2025.
J. Scott Applethite / AP
The Democratic Senate plans to try to force the voting aimed at limiting Trump’s authority to wear levies in Canada.
Chuck Schumer’s minority leader, in a press conference with other Democrats on Tuesday, condemned Trump’s new comments that he “did not care” if foreign car makers raised prices because the tariffs that also took effect on Wednesday.
“America you hear that? Donald Trump says he doesn’t care if you pay more,” Schumer said.
“The president has confirmed the imposition of this tariff, in my view, an emergency made up,” said the Senator Team Kainge, a Democrat Virginia.
ABC News’ Mary Bruce and Katherine Faulders contributed to this report.