Trump says reciprocal tariffs to target 'all countries ': Report

By Mucahithan Avcioglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US President Donald Trump announced that his reciprocal tariffs will target "all countries", breaking expectations that only certain countries will be targeted, according to a report by Al Jazeera on Monday.

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday that he would "start" with all nations when he announces his long-awaited tariff decision on April 2.

"You would start with all countries," Trump said. “Essentially, all of the countries that we’re talking about.”

Trump, who put a 25% tariff on all auto imports last week, has long accused other nations of taking advantage of the US in trade.

On the other hand, Trump had previously hinted at softer tariffs last week, saying he would give a lot of countries some "breaks."

"I may give a lot of countries breaks, but it's reciprocal. But we might be even nicer than that. You know, we've been very nice to a lot of countries for a long time, but I call it Liberation Day. April 2 is Liberation Day," Trump said, referring to his deadline when his reciprocal tariff agenda goes global.

"We may take less than what they're charging because they've charged us so much; I don't think they could take it. In other words, they've charged us so much that I'm embarrassed to charge them what they've charged us, but it'll be substantial, and you'll be hearing about that on April 2," he added.

With tariffs, the US president seeks to revive the US domestic manufacturing and create jobs, particularly within the car industry.