US President Donald Trump has indicated there may be some leeway in the rollout of his reciprocal tariff plan, despite earlier pledges to impose sweeping duties on countries with trade barriers against American exports.
Speaking in the Oval Office on Friday, Trump said he was hearing from those seeking exemptions from the forthcoming tariffs but warned against setting a precedent.
“People are coming to me and talking about tariffs, and a lot of people are asking me if they could have exceptions,” he said. “And once you do that for one, you have to do that for all.”
Nonetheless, Trump signalled a potential softening of his stance.
“I don’t change. But the word flexibility is an important word,” he said. “Sometimes it’s flexibility. So there’ll be flexibility, but basically it’s reciprocal.”
The reciprocal tariff plan, scheduled to begin on 2 April, aims to impose duties on countries that tax US goods, matching their rates. Trump has promoted the date as “Liberation Day in America,” declaring on Truth Social: “For DECADES we have been ripped off and abused by every nation in the World, both friend and foe. Now it is finally time for the Good Ol’ USA to get some of that MONEY, and RESPECT, BACK.”
In addition to tariff developments, Trump said he planned to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping. China has already responded to earlier rounds of US tariffs by placing retaliatory duties on US agricultural products.
The evolving trade policy has rattled investors and drawn criticism from economists and business groups. The Federal Reserve this week warned that tariff-driven price hikes were contributing to economic uncertainty, with Fed Chair Jay Powell saying that inflation expectations had recently edged up, partly due to concerns over tariffs.
Markets fluctuated on Friday following Trump’s remarks, with the S&P 500 recovering some ground before closing lower. The index is on track to post its fifth straight week of losses, and economic forecasts have been downgraded.
The OECD has revised its US GDP forecast from 2.4% to 2.2% for 2025, and from 2.1% to 1.6% for 2026. Global GDP estimates were also cut.
Despite the economic jitters, the White House remains committed to the tariff strategy. Spokesman Kush Desai said the administration was united behind efforts to “finally level the playing field for American industries and workers.”
Other regions are also reacting. The European Union has delayed the start of retaliatory tariffs on US goods to allow time for further discussions, but stressed that it still plans to respond with duties worth up to €26bn. Canada has imposed $20bn worth of counter-tariffs, while negotiations on USMCA-compliant trade continue.
Since returning to office, Trump has announced a 25% tariff on steel and aluminium imports and added new duties on Chinese goods. He has twice suspended tariffs on most Canadian and Mexican goods and threatened — but not implemented — 200% tariffs on European wine and Champagne.
Economists are warning of mounting risks. Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon, said the outlook had darkened due to policy confusion.
“Consumer sentiment has plunged, small business uncertainty is near record highs, purchasing managers are increasingly downbeat, and consumer inflation expectations are surging,” he wrote. “There is now rising stagflation risk with both price growth and unemployment potentially trending higher.”
As April 2 approaches, whether “flexibility” will translate into meaningful exemptions — or simply more market volatility — remains to be seen.
