Trump says reciprocal tariffs will ‘start with all countries,’ rejects narrower launch

President Donald Trump said that his “reciprocal tariffs” plan will target all other countries when they are unveiled Wednesday, injecting more uncertainty into the much-hyped trade policy just days before its rollout.

“You’d start with all countries,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One late Sunday. “So let’s see what happens. There are many countries.”

There is “not a cut off,” he added.

Trump explicitly pushed back on the possibility that the new tariffs would only target the top 10 or 15 trading partners that have their own import duties on U.S. goods.

“Who told you 10 or 15 countries?” Trump asked a reporter. “You didn’t hear it from me.”

The potential economic impact of another round of sweeping tariffs, coupled with the lack of advance clarity about them, has caused turmoil in the stock market. All three major indexes fell sharply when markets opened Monday morning, dragging the S&P 500 back into correction territory.

Multiple Trump administration officials have suggested that reciprocal tariffs would be focused on a handful of countries that have large trade imbalances with the U.S.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent singled out the “Dirty 15” in a recent Fox Business interview, while National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett has said that 10 to 15 countries account for most of America’s trade deficit.

This is developing news. Please check back for updates.