Trump pushes aides to go bigger on tariffs as key deadline nears

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/03/29/republicans-trump-tariffs-trade-war/

Trump pushes aides to go bigger on tariffs as key deadline nears
The president privately tells advisers that import duties represent a generational opportunity to transform the U.S. economy.
March 29, 2025 at 6:00 a.m. EDT
By Jeff Stein and Theodoric Meyer

President Donald Trump is pushing senior advisers to go bigger on tariff policy as they prepare for what the White House has called “Liberation Day,” the April 2 date he has set for a major escalation in his global trade war, four people familiar with the matter said.

Although many of his allies on Wall Street and Capitol Hill have urged the White House to take a more conciliatory approach, Trump has continued to press for aggressive measures to fundamentally transform the U.S. economy, the people said.

The option viewed as most likely, publicly outlined by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this month, would set tariffs on products from the 15 percent of countries the administration deems the worst U.S. trading partners, which account for almost 90 percent of imports. Trump has also moved forward with other tariffs that apply to imports from every country, but only on specific sectors. Trump applied 25 percent tariffs to all automobile imports on Wednesday and has suggested similar measures for the pharmaceutical and lumber industries, among others.

But Trump continues to muse to advisers that his administration should continue to escalate the trade measures and has in recent days revived the idea of a universal tariff that would apply to most imports, regardless of their country of origin, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe private discussions.

The discussions reflect the central role Trump thinks tariffs play in cementing his legacy. Trump has publicly discussed the benefits of import taxes, characterizing “tariffs” as the “most beautiful” word in the dictionary and saying 19th-century tariffs led to the peak of the nation’s prosperity. Some allies have even mused about pushing to make the April 2 anniversary of the tariffs a federal holiday next year.

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