Trump aides draft 20% tariff plan on all US imports: Washington Post
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The news: White House aides have proposed plans to impose tariffs on around 20% of most of the USD3 trillion ($4.8 trillion) of goods brought into the US on an annual basis, according to sources cited by the Washington Post.
The context: US President Donald Trump has repeated that the incoming tariffs will be reciprocal in nature, meaning that they would be in proportion to those levied by foreign countries on US exports. The report said that the Trump administration is considering using the trillions of dollars in anticipated import revenue for a tax dividend or refund.
Moody's chief economist, Mark Zandi, told the Post that if implemented, the 20% tariffs would likely send shock waves through the stock market and global economy. Assuming that permanent tariffs took effect in the current quarter and triggered robust retaliation by US trading partners, the economy would almost immediately tumble into a recession that would last for more than a year, sending the US jobless rate above 7%.
White House advisors cautioned that several options remain on the table, according to the masthead, and that any country that has treated the US unfairly should expect to receive a tariff.
Trump has already rolled out tariffs on aluminium, steel and autos, as well as on all goods from China.
On Monday the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) submitted its 2025 National Trade Estimate Report, which was effectively a laundry list of foreign trade barriers the US argues is faced by its exporters. The estimate calls out Australia’s biosecurity laws, pharmaceutical patent processes, media bargaining code, screen content requirements and investment barriers, as relevant trade focal points.
What they said: “The president will be announcing a tariff plan that will roll back the unfair trade practices that have been ripping off this country for decades. He’s doing this in the best interest of the American worker,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday.
The sources: Washington Post, USTR National Trade Estimate
