Trump just gave his clearest picture yet of what new tariffs could look like

President Donald Trump has been talking about tariffs for so long that it feels like we know exactly what’s coming. But we kind of have no idea.

President Donald Trump has been talking about tariffs for so long that it feels like we know exactly what’s coming. But we kind of have no idea. Trump has repeatedly thrown out some now-familiar numbers: 25% tariffs on all imports from Mexico and Canada, anywhere from 10% to 60% across-the-board tariffs on China and 10% or 20% tariffs on everything else that comes into the United States. He has said tariffs on products from Mexico, Canada and China are coming as soon as this week. And in a trade war that lasted about 10 hours, Trump announced — and then rescinded — tariffs on Colombia. Still, the specifics around timing and scope have remained something of a mystery. It hasn’t helped that Trump has already walked back some of his most aggressive trade proposals and that his administration has been inconsistent on the messaging. But Trump laid out his clearest message yet on tariffs during an address to House Republicans on Monday, spelling out what imports his administration plan to tax first. “We are going to look at pharmaceuticals, drugs, we are going to look at chips, semiconductors and we are going to look at steel and some other industries and you are going to see things happening,” Trump told House Republicans. “The only way to get out of this is to build your plant — if you want to stop paying taxes or tariffs, build here in America.” So, Trump’s portrait of tariffs is coming into clearer focus: Start with some high-profile items and build upon them over time. That’s similar to how he approached Colombia in a short-lived spat over deportations: Institute smaller tariffs at first that escalate over the course of days and weeks to ramp up the pressure.