U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on March 24, 2025, in Washington, DC.Win McNamee/Getty Images
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday his administration would announce tariffs on vehicles and pharmaceuticals in the very near future, but did not say if they would be arriving on April 2, the day the administration plans to impose what it calls “reciprocal” tariffs on trading partners.
Over the past month, the President has threatened to impose sector-specific tariffs on industries such as automobiles, but their timing has been unclear. On Sunday, Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal reported that the administration likely won’t move ahead with sector-specific duties on April 2, although the levies remain on the table. This news fueled a rebound in stock markets Monday.
The forthcoming “reciprocal” tariffs are expected to be the centerpiece of Mr. Trump’s ultra-protectionist agenda, and appear to have replaced his campaign promise of a universal tariff on all trading partners. However, it’s not yet clear how the reciprocal tariffs will be calculated, how they’ll implemented, and what countries they will apply to.
“We’ve been ripped off by every country in the world, friend and foe,” Mr. Trump said during a meeting with cabinet members and billionaire adviser Elon Musk, riffing off a frequent refrain that trade partners that run a surplus with the U.S. are treating the country unfairly.
Canada had a US$63-billion goods trade surplus with the U.S. last year, although that was largely due to oil exports, and shrinks when factoring in services.
While the details of the reciprocal tariffs remain vague, some potential outlines are emerging. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a Fox News interview last week that the U.S. would put country-specific tariff rates on trading partners, meant to match the tariffs those countries put on U.S. goods and to account for other trade grievances. He said these could apply to a smaller group of countries, which he called the “dirty 15,″ that have large trade surpluses with the U.S. That likely includes Canada.
Canada’s average effective tariff rate on U.S. imports is around 2 per cent, meaning a reciprocal tariff that focused on customs duties alone would be relatively low. However, the Trump administration has indicated that other factors, such as Canada’s digital services tax and supply-management system for dairy and poultry products, will likely be included when calculating the reciprocal tariff rate for Canada. This means the rate imposed on Canada could be considerably higher.
Tariff cheat sheet: What’s in effect, what’s on pause and what’s been threatened?
During the cabinet meeting, Mr. Trump also announced plans to widen his trade war by imposing a 25 per cent tariff on imports from any country that purchases oil or gas from Venezuela, starting April 2. In a Truth Social post, he said the tariffs were a result of Venezuela “purposefully and deceitfully” sending criminals to the U.S. Mr. Trump confirmed that these 25 per cent tariffs would be in addition to previous tariffs.
Among the countries that import Venezuelan crude are China, India and Spain.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also said April 2 is when the White House will launch the “external revenue service,” a new agency that would collect tariffs and other revenues from foreign nations.
Since returning to office, Mr. Trump’s trade policy has been equal parts aggressive and erratic.
On March 4, Mr. Trump imposed a 25-per-cent tariff on Canadian and Mexican imports, with a lower 10-per-cent levy for energy products, critical minerals and potash. He claimed this was being done to push Ottawa and Mexico City to do more to address border security issues. Two days later, Mr. Trump offered a month-long reprieve on these tariffs for products that comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the continental free trade pact.
The President said he offered the reprieve after speaking with the heads of General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, whose border-crossing supply chains will be heavily impacted by tariffs. But he also said that it was just a temporary break to give companies time to rejig their supply chains.
Mr. Trump has repeatedly derided Canada’s auto industry, saying that America does not need cars made in Canada. When Ontario Premier Doug Ford placed an export surcharge on electricity, before backing down, Mr. Trump threatened to “permanently shut down the automobile manufacturing business in Canada.”
Ontario plants run by Ford, GM, Stellantis, Honda Motor Co. Ltd. and Toyota Motor Corp. made a total of 1.5 million passenger vehicles in 2023, 93 per cent of which were exported to the U.S.
On March 12, Mr. Trump imposed 25-per-cent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, including from Canada.
Canada has retaliated with its own levies on around $60-billion worth of U.S. goods, and threatened additional tariffs if the U.S. does not back down.