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Ahead of President Trump\u2019s next big trade move, his administration invited companies to weigh in on the economic barriers they faced abroad.<\/p>\n
The list of complaints was both sprawling and specific. In hundreds of letters submitted to the administration in recent weeks, producers of uranium, shrimp, T-shirts and steel highlighted the unfair trade treatment they faced, in hopes of bending the president\u2019s trade agenda in their favor. The complaints varied from Brazil\u2019s high tariffs on ethanol and pet food, to India\u2019s high levies on almonds and pecans, to Japan\u2019s longstanding barriers to American potatoes.<\/p>\n
Mr. Trump has promised to overhaul the global trading system on April 2, when he plans to impose what he is calling \u201creciprocal tariffs\u201d that will match the levies and other policies that countries impose on American exports. The president has taken to calling this \u201cliberation day,\u201d arguing that it will end years of other countries \u201cripping us off.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a liberation day for our country, because we\u2019re going to be getting back a lot of the wealth that we so foolishly gave up to other countries,\u201d Mr. Trump said last week.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The president had floated the idea of also announcing sector-specific tariffs on cars, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors that same day. On Monday, White House officials said that those additional tariffs had not yet been set for April 2 but that the situation remained very fluid.<\/p>\n
One official said that separate tariffs on cars could still happen on April 2. Another official said that if tariffs on cars and other sectors did not happen on April 2, they could still be imposed at a later date.<\/p>\n
Markets opened higher on Monday after Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal reported that the White House was not likely to announce industry-specific tariffs on April 2.<\/p>\n
Still, the price of imported cars, medicines and semiconductors will probably go up through Mr. Trump\u2019s reciprocal tariff plan. Many details of that plan remain unclear, but administration officials have indicated that the reciprocal tariffs would add an additional fee on top of most or all products imported from specific countries.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not clear how many countries will be hit, but Trump officials have mentioned the \u201cdirty 15,\u201d a reference to a group of countries that have tariffs on American products and run trade surpluses with the United States, presumably including most of America\u2019s largest trading partners.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The reciprocal tariff plan has created a tricky calculus for many companies, which want to see trade barriers erased but fear ending up at the center of a trade war that could make them worse off. That is because Mr. Trump\u2019s high-stakes approach could generate efforts by other countries to make deals with the United States and drop their own tariffs \u2014 or it could invite retaliation that ends up closing off foreign markets to American products.<\/p>\n
Some American companies see an opportunity in Mr. Trump\u2019s agenda. Many of the letters that companies submitted to the Office of the United States Trade Representative in recent weeks asked officials to fight for lower trade barriers on their behalf, highlighting the high levies, onerous inspections or other complications American exporters face in foreign markets.<\/p>\n
But others appear hesitant to put themselves in the president\u2019s cross hairs. Some industry representatives say privately that companies have been nervous that raising their hands for help could put them at the center of coming trade spats, disrupting the export markets they depend on and potentially making them a target for retaliation.<\/p>\n