Trump Promises Auto Tariffs Before Reciprocal and Sectoral Tariffs on April 2
President Donald Trump promised tariffs on automobiles in the "next few days," and seemed to indicate they would be announced prior to April 2, the date he said that sector tariffs as well as reciprocal tariffs will come into effect.
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During a press briefing after remarks with the governor of Louisiana, a reporter asked Trump if, on April 2, there were "going to be sector tariffs as well as reciprocal tariffs," to which Trump replied: "It's going to be everything. Yeah, it's going to be everything."
He then said that not all of his tariffs would happen on April 2, including duties on automobiles, which he said "you've known about for a long time." He said his administration will "be announcing that fairly soon, over the next few days, probably.
"And then April 2 comes," he continued, "that'll be reciprocal tariffs." Those rates may be "less than what they're charging, because they've charged us so much I don't think they could take it," he continued. Trump said he would be "embarrassed" to charge them commensurate amounts but that "it'll be substantial."
These tariffs will make April 2 "Liberation Day," he said, "because we'll be taking in large amounts of money for our country. And that's lower taxes and all other things that are good and jobs, a lot of jobs."
Trump said earlier in the day, during a Cabinet meeting, that the tariffs are driving manufacturing expansions and investments.
"They have to come back because the tariffs are forcing them to come back," he said, and said that investments "may be" $4 trillion worth. He also mentioned again what he says are plans by Honda to open a plant in Indiana. The car company has made no such announcement.
"General Motors is already redoing plants that were half-abandoned," he added. "They and others are going to be making parts and other things in those plants, so that it's one stop shopping, finally.
"It's ridiculous. You had to go to Mexico, you had to go to Canada [to get parts] -- a car went all over the place, it was like -- I don't know how it would've worked, but that's the way it sort of ended up."
Referring to the renegotiated NAFTA during his first term, Trump added, "We had a deal, and we have a deal, which is fine, but people took advantage of the deal. They cheated. And when you cheat, the deals are unfortunate ... ."