President Donald Trump is preparing to announce his most expansive tariff plan to date, set to take effect on April 2 - a date he has dubbed "Liberation Day." While specifics remain unclear, he has said the plan will impose "reciprocal tariffs" on countries deemed to have unfair trade barriers against U.S. goods, with some nations set to face steeper consequences than others.
What To Know: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has hinted at targeting a subset of nations he referred to as the "Dirty 15" in a Fox Business interview on March 18. Bessent described the "Dirty 15" as the 15% of nations that account for the bulk of U.S. trading volume and impose hefty tariffs and other barriers on U.S. goods.
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett similarly cited 10 to 15 countries responsible for the U.S.'s $1 trillion trade deficit, though neither official named specific nations.
Dirty 15: A CNBC report pointed to 2024 data from the Department of Commerce that identified China, the EU, Mexico, Vietnam, Germany, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Canada, India, Thailand, Italy, Switzerland, Malaysia, Indonesia, France, Austria and Sweden.
A separate U.S. Trade representative notice flagged 21 countries in which it is "particularly interested" as part of a review of unfair trade practices. The countries listed were: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the EU, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the U.K. and Vietnam.
It remains unclear exactly which countries will be targeted in Wednesday's tariff announcements. CNBC said the White House did not respond to its request for clarification on the forthcoming tariffs or the Dirty 15.
Trump on Sunday dismissed the idea of limiting tariffs to a select group, stating the measures would "start with all countries" and lack a "cutoff." Trump's comments contradicted earlier suggestions of a narrower focus and fueled market volatility, with global stocks sliding ahead of the announcement.
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