President Donald Trump said Friday that he has “flexibility” in his mutual tariff plans despite appearing to oppose the idea of making exceptions to future obligations.
“People come to me and talk about tariffs. A lot of people are asking me if they can have exceptions,” Trump told reporters in the oval office.
“And once you do it, you have to do it for everyone,” he said.
A fair fan of tariffs, Trump claimed he didn’t change his mind when he gave top carmakers a month’s exemption from their previous import obligations in early March.
“I’m not changing, but the word flexibility is an important word,” he said. “It’s flexible at times, so it’s flexible, but essentially mutual.”
Trump touted the April 2nd start date of his mutual tariffs as the “liberation day” for America.
Trump and his officials say the plan effectively allocates tariff fees to all countries that have their own tariffs on US goods. Countries with other non-tariff trade policies opposed by the Trump administration, such as VAT, could also be subject to new obligations.
Trump also said he plans to speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday. Beijing has already slapped retaliatory tariffs on US agricultural products in response to Trump’s widespread tariffs on Chinese imports.
Trump has stolen the White House and incited investor uncertainty and the fear of a massive trade war before issuing a surge in tariff announcements.
