President Donald Trump announced there will be “flexibility” in his forthcoming reciprocal tariff plan, even as he appeared to reject calls for broad exemptions from the duties set to begin on April 2.
Speaking from the Oval Office on Friday, Trump said, “People are coming to me and talking about tariffs, and a lot of people are asking me if they could have exceptions. And once you do that for one, you have to do that for all.”
Despite granting a one-month exemption to major automakers during a previous round of import duties in early March, Trump insisted he had not changed his stance on tariffs. “I don’t change. But the word flexibility is an important word,” he said. “So there’ll be flexibility, but basically it’s reciprocal.”
Trump has described the April 2 implementation date for the tariffs as America’s “liberation day.” Under the plan, countries that impose tariffs on U.S. goods will face equivalent duties. Nations with non-tariff trade barriers, such as value-added taxes, may also be subject to new measures.
The president also revealed plans to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Beijing has already retaliated with tariffs on U.S. agricultural products in response to Trump’s earlier actions targeting Chinese imports.
Since returning to the White House, Trump has announced a series of tariffs, escalating fears of a global trade war and increasing uncertainty among investors.
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