Trump says he ‘may give a lot of countries breaks’ from April 2 tariffs

Canada has had discussions with the Trump administration in recent weeks to seek exemptions from existing tariffs and 'reciprocal' levies set for April 2.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that he “may give a lot of countries breaks” from the so-called “reciprocal” tariffs he’s set to impose on foreign trade next week.

Trump made the comment after Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal reported Monday that what is meant to be a global matching of tariffs imposed on U.S. goods starting on April 2 — which Trump has touted as “Liberation Day” — may be far narrower and exempt some countries and specific sectors.

“I may give a lot of countries breaks,” Trump said at an announcement at the White House when asked about the reports, but did not say specifically which ones.

“We’ll be announcing some additional tariffs over the next few days, having to do with automobiles, cars, and having also to do with lumber down the road — lumber and (semiconductor) chips,” Trump said.

“We’ve been ripped off by every country,” he told reporters after a meeting of his cabinet earlier Monday, predicting that the tariffs expected on April 2 would raise “rather astronomical” amounts of money for the U.S., allowing tax rates to remain low or come down.

Trump’s announcement Monday that Hyundai was building a new steel manufacturing plant in Louisiana, as well as expanding its auto manufacturing footprint in Georgia, was pointed to by lawmakers and officials at the event as further proof that Trump’s trade policies were producing results.

The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg earlier reported that the sector-specific tariffs are expected to be delayed, citing a Trump administration official. Yet Reuters, also citing an unnamed administration official responding to those reports, said the situation was fluid and no final decisions had been made.

Canada has had discussions with the Trump administration in recent weeks to seek exemptions from the April 2 tariffs and others imposed on Canadian goods since early this month.