When President Donald Trump told reporters late Monday that he’d “settled” on a plan for sweeping new tariffs to be announced midweek, some White House officials were caught by surprise.
If the president had indeed arrived at a final decision for the tariffs, it hadn’t yet been widely shared inside the building.
Indeed, one day before Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, about the only thing certain is where his announcement will take place: the Rose Garden, in its 2025 debut.
Still unclear is whether Trump plans to levy individual tariff rates on all US trading partners; put tariffs on only some countries; or apply a universal tariff — perhaps as high as 20% — on all imports.
On Monday afternoon, one White House official said they didn’t believe Trump would arrive at a decision until the hours before Wednesday’s announcement, as he absorbs eleventh-hour pitches from his team.
A debate inside the West Wing over how to proceed with Trump’s tariff plan has been ongoing now for weeks, as Trump’s advisers each present plans for new duties on imported goods.
Trump’s team is comprised of hardline tariff hawks – including trade adviser Peter Navarro – and advisers viewed as less bullish on tariffs, such as chief economist Kevin Hassett or Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
All are publicly supportive of Trump’s tariff agenda, but differ in approach and scope behind the scenes.
Various sets of tariff and economic analyses were due on Trump’s desk April 1, but discussions on the tariffs have been proceeding in meetings and informal discussions with Trump well before the reports arrived.
“He has a brilliant team of trade advisers,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday, listing the treasury secretary, commerce secretary, US trade representative and various West Wing economic minds.
“All of these individuals have presented plans to the president on how to get this done, and it is the president’s decision to make, and we will not get ahead of him on the specifics of the announcement,” she said.
