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President Donald Trump is pressing his staff to take a harder stance on tariffs as part of an effort to transform the US economy, sources told the Washington Post. That could include a universal tariff that hits most imports without regard to the country of origin. The discussions come right before April 2, which Trump has billed as “Liberation Day,” when his next batch of tariffs will be unveiled.
As part of an effort to fundamentally transform the US economy, President Donald Trump has been pushing his staff to get even more aggressive on tariffs, sources told the Washington Post.
That could include a universal tariff that hits most imports, no matter which country they are from, the report said, adding that Trump views a single duty as less likely to be watered down by exemptions.
Intense discussions are ongoing ahead of April 2, which Trump has billed as “Liberation Day,” when his next batch of tariffs will be unveiled.
For now, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s “dirty 15” plan to set tariffs on the 15% of countries that the administration considers the worst trading partners is seen as the most likely outcome, according to the Post.
“There’s still a lot of options still on the table. They are considering everything and trying very hard to make the idea of a reciprocal tariff both understandable to the American public and effective,” Wilbur Ross, Trump’s commerce secretary during his first term, told the Post. “They are quite correctly exploring every alternative in…
