President Trump is expected to announce further tariffs against other nations on Monday or Tuesday.
The President said nations that impose tariffs on US goods should expect them in return.
“Where a country… charges us so much, and we do the same—I think that’s the only fair way to do it. That way, nobody’s hurt,” Trump said, during a press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, on Friday.
The President did not provide any further details, but he said automobile tariffs are under consideration.
“That’s always on the table. It’s a very big deal, because… we have cases where we don’t supply autos, and other countries do.”
China, India and the EU, all of which impose hefty tariffs on US products, are likely to see reciprocal tariffs in the near future. India, for example, imposes tariffs of 60% on US automobiles tariffs of up to 100% on some agricultural products.
Trump has already imposed an extra tariff of 10% on Chinese goods entering the US until the Chinese government stops the flow of fentanyl precursor chemicals from China to Mexico and Canada.
Mexico and Canada have had tariffs of 25% imposed on goods entering the US; although these were paused for 30 days on 4 February after the leaders of the two nations agreed to bolster border security significantly. Tens of thousands of Mexican and Canadian troops will now patrol their country’s border with the US.
Stock markets reacted with a certain amount of alarm to Trump’s new tariffs, but the President said he was confident they would work out in the US’s favour.
“The tariffs are going to make us very rich and very strong,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office at the end of last month.
“And we’re going to treat other countries very fairly, but if you think about it, other countries charge us tariffs, we don’t charge them tariffs, and it’s about time that that changes.”
Tariffs are a key plank of Trump’s economic policies for his second term. He has spoken favorably of President William McKinley’s tariff policies and even suggested abolishing federal income tax and replacing it with tariffs.