U.S. President Donald Trump reads about tariffs on steel and aluminum, as Howard Lutnick stands in the background, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., Feb. 10, 2025.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
President Donald Trump set an Oval Office news conference on his plan to impose reciprocal tariffs on other countries for Thursday at 1 p.m. ET.
Trump’s all-caps post on Truth Social announcing the presser offered no details about the plan, which remains opaque.
In another post earlier Thursday, Trump hyped up the forthcoming tariffs, writing, “TODAY IS THE BIG ONE: RECIPROCAL TARIFFS!!!”
The tariffs that Trump is poised to announce Thursday will not go into effect until some months later, White House officials told CNBC ahead of the news conference.
The new tariffs will follow duties Trump has already slapped on China, Canada and Mexico, as well as on imports of steel and aluminum. Trump’s tariffs on Canada and Mexico are currently on pause after both countries pledged to crack down on illegal crossings and drug trafficking at their respective borders with the U.S.
Trump said Sunday that he planned to slap reciprocal tariffs on “every country” that imposes import duties on the U.S.
“Very simply it’s if they charge us, we charge them,” he said on Air Force One, NBC News reported.
As a presidential candidate, Trump floated the possibility of imposing across-the-board tariffs on all U.S. imports. But he also advocated for Congress to pass what he called the “Trump Reciprocal Trade Act,” which would empower him to slap tariffs on the goods of any country that has higher tariffs on U.S.-made goods.
Since taking office, Trump has signaled his plans to impose tariffs on the European Union. He has highlighted U.S. trade deficits with European partners and complained that EU nations do not purchase enough American cars or farm equipment.
EU leaders have vowed to retaliate against new U.S. tariffs, while warning that Trump’s actions risk sparking a widespread trade war that ultimately hurts everyone.
The new reciprocal tariffs were expected to come before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit with Trump at the White House on Thursday afternoon.
— CNBC’s Eamon Javers contributed to this report.
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