Just hours before the plan is announced, questions remain about whether it will involve reciprocal tariffs or a general 20% tariff.
This Wednesday afternoon, U.S. President Donald Trump will announce his country's new tariff policy, which could include reciprocal or generalized tariffs, something that was still in doubt just hours before the announcement was made.
"I understand the tariffs will be announced tomorrow (Wednesday), and they will take effect immediately," said Karoline Leavitt, a U.S. government spokeswoman, at a press conference in Washington on Tuesday.
According to the White House, the announcement will take place in the White House Rose Garden, the first event to be held there during the current presidency.
Leavitt said the president would not be intimidated by the market reaction after major U.S. stock indexes closed their worst quarter since 2022 on Monday, March 31.
"The president has always said that the stock market is a snapshot of a moment in time and that he's doing what's best for ordinary people, which will be appropriately processed by Wall Street," he said.
During the first quarter of the year, the S&P 500 index fell 4.6%, the Nasdaq fell 10.4%, and the Dow Jones dropped 1.3%.
Compared to their all-time highs, the S&P 500 is down 8.3% and the Nasdaq is down 14%.
Within hours of the announcement, speculation in the US press was still rife as to whether Trump's announcement would stick to the original plan for reciprocal tariffs—that is, imposing tariffs equivalent to those each country charges the United States—or announcing a widespread tariff.
Since the weekend, outlets such as The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post have published stories reporting that White House advisers are proposing a tariff of around 20 percent on most U.S. imports.
But this Tuesday, the Post reported that White House advisers say no final decision has been made and that several options are on the table. On Monday, the Journal reported, citing an unidentified U.S. government official, that whatever the final plan, "the president wants it to be big and simple."
On February 13, Trump announced his "Fair and Reciprocal Trade Plan," and will announce reciprocal tariffs on April 2.
The announcement's statement, as justification, reads: "The United States is one of the most open economies in the world; however, our trading partners keep their markets closed to our exports. This lack of reciprocity is unfair and contributes to our persistently high annual trade deficit."
To determine the details of reciprocal tariffs, Trump instructed the Department of Commerce to conduct a comprehensive study of U.S. bilateral trade deficits and make tariff recommendations.
That study must be submitted no later than April 2, a date chosen out of superstition, according to Trump himself, since he had originally thought of April 1, but that day is celebrated in the United States as "Fools' Day."
Tariff releveling
The United States currently charges an average tariff of 2.5% on non-agricultural goods and 5% on agricultural goods to all countries with which it does not have a trade agreement.
These rates operate under the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO), of which the United States is a member. These rules establish that if a member country grants preferential treatment to another member country, it must automatically extend that treatment to all WTO members.
This is known as the Most Favored Nation (MFN) principle, and each country determines what the MFN tariff will be for WTO members.
The MFN tariffs charged by the United States are low, but they were determined by Washington to suit its interests.
