Donald Trump's administration has threatened to impose mutual tariffs on the entire world starting April 2, while Trump's senior advisors are working to outline specific policies. In this regard, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 18th (local time) that "the Trump administration is discussing classifying trading partners hierarchically instead of imposing the same tariff rate on all countries."
WSJ, citing sources, reported that the Trump administration recently considered whether to categorize countries into three tariff tiers to simplify the complex task of devising new tariff rates for hundreds of U.S. trading partners.
WSJ noted that a simplified three-tier tariff proposal applying low, medium, and high rates was discussed at a meeting on the 13th attended by Treasury Secretary Scott Vance, Chief of Staff Suzy Wiles, Commerce Secretary Howard Rootnick, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer, White House Deputy Policy Director Steve Miller, and Director General Peter Navarro. However, it added that "the Trump administration is still trying to create a method for imposing individual tariffs on each country," stating that "on the 14th, the phased tariff proposal was excluded and the individualized approach received positive responses."
Discussions regarding mutual tariffs are being led by Vice President JD Vance. Meetings of Trump's senior advisors have taken place at the Navy Observatory, the Vice President's residence in Washington, D.C., over the past few weeks. They are reportedly focusing on creating a flexible tariff policy that achieves the goals set by Trump. One meeting attendee said, "Mutual tariffs will be implemented, and the goal of mutual tariffs is to figure out how to impose taxes that can withstand legal challenges."
Trump has reiterated that mutual tariffs mean "what they impose on us, we impose on them." To achieve this, the U.S. must present different tariff rates tailored to hundreds of countries. Secretary Vance appeared on Fox Business on the 18th, stating that they will pursue an individualized approach to inter-country mutual tariffs. He said, "On April 2, each country will receive a number representing its tariffs," adding that "some countries will be quite low and some will be quite high."