President Donald Trump could be signaling a softer tariff policy ahead of what he calls “Liberation Day” on April 2.
He told reporters at a March 24 news conference that he could “give a lot of countries breaks.” The president also said that tariffs could be less than other nations charge “because they’ve charged so much.”
“I don’t think they could take it,” Trump said. “In other words, they’ve charged us so much that I’m embarrassed to charge them what they’ve charged.”
Administration officials have provided more details about the forthcoming reciprocal tariffs. In a recent Fox Business interview, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent noted that the levies could concentrate on the so-called “Dirty 15,” nations with persistent trade imbalances.
At a Cabinet meeting earlier in the day, the president said he would announce tariffs on automobiles, lumber, pharmaceuticals, and semiconductors in the coming days.
“So we’ll be announcing some of these things in the very near future, not the long future, the very near future,” Trump said in the Cabinet meeting. “We’ve been ripped off by every country in the world.”
His remarks came as investors digested media reports suggesting that the upcoming reciprocal tariffs could be narrowed.
A White House official confirmed to The Epoch Times that President Trump may or may not implement sectoral tariffs next month.
“No final decisions have been made yet on sectoral tariffs being tacked on to reciprocal for the April 2 timeline,” the official said.
President Trump also threatened tariffs against countries that purchase Venezuelan crude oil. He announced on social media that he would impose a 25 percent tariff on any country that buys oil from the Latin American country.
“Venezuela has been very hostile to the United States and the Freedoms which we espouse,“ Trump said in a Truth Social post. ”Therefore, any Country that purchases Oil and/or Gas from Venezuela will be forced to pay a Tariff of 25% to the United States on any Trade they do with our Country.”
Tariffs were the main focus on Wall Street. The leading benchmark averages soared to start the trading week as investors cheered a potentially softer trade policy stance from the Trump administration.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, a blue-chip index, rallied nearly 600 points. The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite Index added more than 400 points, while the broader S&P 500 surged 100 points.
Traders have turned more optimistic in recent sessions, escaping the “extreme fear” side of the Fear & Greed Index for the first time since late February. This is a result of President Trump indicating that he is willing to be flexible as the White House implements his trade policy agenda.
“I don’t change. But the word ‘flexibility’ is an important word,” Trump said to reporters at the Oval Office on March 21. “So there’ll be flexibility, but basically, it’s reciprocal.”
BOOKMARKS
Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, was accidentally added to a group chat detailing planned U.S. airstrikes on Houthi terrorists in Yemen. It is suspected that he was included in the chat due to a mistake by national security adviser Mike Waltz.
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Elon Musk says employees from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are receiving death threats on a daily basis. DOGE has been busy cutting government spending since the beginning of Trump’s second term, but its scope and methods have been controversial.
Susan Monarez has been leading the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as its acting director since January, but now Trump has tapped her to head the agency long-term. As part of a new rule that took effect just this year, her position will require confirmation by the Senate.
The Federal Aviation Administration has gone on a hiring spree, seeking to bring in more air traffic controllers following several recent aircraft disasters. More than 10,000 applicants put in for the six-figure job throughout a three-week hiring window.
—Stacy Robinson
