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5 questions about Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs

12 1
02.04.2025

President Trump plans to announce reciprocal tariffs on a host of nations Wednesday at a White House event.

Trump has deemed April 2 “Liberation Day” because of the tariffs, and the White House ceremony is also being described as an event to “make America wealthy again.”

But there are many doubts over whether the tariffs will lead to wealth or economic disaster.

And there are tons of questions about what Trump has planned.

Here are five of the biggest ones.

Which countries will Trump hit with tariffs?

Trump is reportedly deciding between imposing a broad tariff on imports and subjecting certain countries — particularly major U.S. trading partners — with specific import taxes.

Treasury Department Secretary Scott Bessent suggested in March that the administration could go after the 15 percent of countries responsible for the most trade with the U.S., which he called ‘the Dirty 15.”

Bessent didn’t specify which countries make up the “Dirty 15,” though an analysis from CNBC determined it would likely include China, the European Union, Mexico, Vietnam, Ireland, Germany, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Canada, India, Thailand, Italy, Switzerland, Malaysia, Indonesia, France, Austria and Sweden, based on the size of the U.S.’s trade deficit in goods with those nations.

“There are a reasonably small number of countries........

© The Hill