US may exclude sector-specific tariffs on April 2, reports say, but situation fluid

(Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump is likely to exclude a set of sector-specific tariffs while applying reciprocal levies on April 2, the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg reported, but a Trump administration official on Monday cautioned that the situation was fluid and no final decisions had been made.

Trump himself will ultimately determine the contents of the April 2 announcement, which he has touted as "Liberation Day" for the U.S. economy. The action aims to shrink a $1.2 trillion global goods trade deficit by raising U.S. tariffs to levels charged by other countries and counteracting their non-tariff trade barriers.

Trump said in February that he intended to impose auto tariffs "in the neighborhood of 25%" and similar duties on semiconductors and pharmaceutical imports, but he later agreed to delay some auto tariffs after a push by the three largest U.S. automakers for a waiver.

The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg earlier reported that the sector-specific tariffs are expected to be delayed, also citing an administration official.

Trump's whirlwind tariff offensive since his January inauguration has been marked by threats, reversals and delays, sometimes within hours of imposition deadlines, as his trade team formulates policy on the fly.

Thus far, he has imposed new 20% duties on Chinese imports, fully restored 25% duties on global steel and aluminum imports and slapped 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico that do not comply with a North American trade agreement over the U.S. fentanyl overdose crisis.

Two senior Trump officials -- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and top White House Economic Adviser Kevin Hassett -- said last week that the administration is expected to focus the much anticipated April 2 reciprocal tariff announcement on a narrower set of countries with the biggest trade surpluses and high tariff and non-tariff barriers.

Bessent referred to these as the "Dirty 15" a reference to 15% of countries, while Hassett told Fox Business the focus would be on 10-15 countries.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Trade Representative's office, which is leading the effort to determine the reciprocal tariffs, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A White House spokesperson also did not respond.

In a request for public comments on reciprocal tariffs, USTR said it was particularly interested in submissions for the largest U.S. trade partners, and those with the highest goods trade surpluses.

USTR named Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Britain and Vietnam as being of particular interest, adding that they cover 88% of total goods trade with the U.S.

(Reporting by Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru and David Lawder; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Nick Zieminski)