President Donald Trump on March 4. (Alex Brandon/AP)
President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs will take immediate effect after they are announced April 2, his top spokeswoman said.
“My understanding is that the tariff announcement will come tomorrow. They will be effective immediately, and the president has been teasing this for quite some time,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters April 1.
Trump on April 2 plans to roll out tariffs on global trading partners during an event planned for 4 p.m. in the White House Rose Garden, the centerpiece of his effort to bring back manufacturing to the U.S. and reshape a world trade system he has long decried as unfair.
Leavitt provided few clues about the size and scope of the levies, but said Trump would be willing to listen to foreign governments and corporate leaders who ask for lower rates. She said many nations had already contacted the administration about the president’s plans.
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) March 29, 2025
“Certainly, the president is always up to take a phone call, always up for a good negotiation, but he is very much focused on fixing the wrongs of the past and showing that American workers have a fair shake,” she said.
The spokeswoman also downplayed market volatility ahead of the announcement. Investor fears that tariffs could drive up consumer prices have driven a weekslong U.S. stock selloff.
“Like they were in his first term, Wall Street will be just fine,” Leavitt said.
Asked about the notion that White House advisers could misjudge the effect of the tariffs and ultimately hurt the U.S. economy, Leavitt dismissed the possibility.
“They’re not going to be wrong,” she said. “It is going to work, and the president has a brilliant team of advisers who have been studying these issues for decades, and we are focused on restoring the golden age of America and making America a manufacturing superpower.”
