White House expected to narrow ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs

The White House is narrowing its approach to tariffs set to take effect on April 2nd, dubbed “Liberation Day” by President Donald Trump, likely omitting a set of industry-specific tariffs while applying reciprocal levies on a targeted set of nations that account for the bulk of foreign trade with the U.S. There had been plans to announce reciprocal tariffs that seek to equalize U.S. tariffs with the duties charged by trading partners, as well as tariffs on sectors like automobiles, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors. However, the Wall Street Journal cites an administration official who says those sector-specific tariffs are now unlikely to be announced on April 2nd. The official added that the White House is still planning to unveil the reciprocal tariff action on that day, though planning remains fluid. The fate of the sectoral tariffs, as well as tariffs on Canada and Mexico that Trump said were justified by fentanyl trafficking, remains uncertain.