The uncertainty surrounding President Donald Trump's trade wars grew thicker in advance of his scheduled announcement of "reciprocal" tariffs against U.S. trading partners. 

Ahead of Trump's scheduled tariff announcement, which he has dubbed "Liberation Day," key questions about the planned round of tariffs remained unanswered, including which countries or products would be targeted and how high the new tariffs would be. According to a report in The Washington Post, citing "three people familiar with the matter," the tariffs could be as high as 20% and applied to nearly all products.

On Monday, Trump repeated comments that the new tariffs would be "reciprocal," imposed on countries that have their own trade barriers to U.S. exports. They would be lower than the tariffs of the targeted nations, he said, indicating a more tailored approach than a broad 20% tariff.

In recent weeks, financial markets have been whipsawed by successive reports about Trump's intentions. Markets tanked on speculation that the tariffs would⛎ be stiffer and wider-ranging, and they recovered when some reports suggested the import taxes wo𝕴ul🍸d be on the lenient side and applied more narrowly. The new tariffs would be on top of those 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:alreꦐady imposed against China, Canada, and Mexico, as well as 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:tariffs on steel and aluminum and a newly announced 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:25% tariff on imported cars.

"April 2 has long been circled on investors’ calendars," wrote Morgan Stanley analysts. "Little is known about what this policy will entail. This isn’t exactly reassuring to investors we talk to, who are perplexed by the dynamic of tariff announcements, negotiations, delays, and shifting levels of implementation for Mexico, Canada, China, and some key products. ..Given so many variables in play, the plausible paths are myriad."

Trump has said the tariffs are meant to protect American industry from competition, encourage companies to build factories in the U.S., raise revenue to run the government, and negotiate better trade deals with foreign countries. Some trade experts said the tariffs will likely 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:raise the cost of living for American consumers and risk 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:pushing the econo💯my into a recession.

Meanwhile, the uncertainty surrounding the tariff plans has caused problems of its own, highlighted by a pair of economic reports Tuesday. Employers 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:cut back slightly on job openings in February, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said, as businesses awaited clarity on trade policy. Manufacturing activity 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:slowed down in March, a survey by the Institute for Supply Management showed, while an index measuring prices paid by manufacturers rose to its highest since June 2022 due largely to Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum.

"The lack of detail coming from the White House is keeping businesses, investors and foreign governments on edge," Matt Colyar, an economist at Moody's Analytics, wrote in a commentary. "Some of this is likely by design. A clock ticking down toward a big reveal hastens negotiations between the Trump administration, industry leaders and foreign governments. Also at play, however, is the magnitude and complexity of the task and the likelihood that no internally consistent plan will be ready on Wednesday."

Update, April 2, 2025: This article has been updated to include comments from analysts at Morgan Stanley.