Trump touts return of the ‘American Dream’ in historic tariff announcement
President Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs during a highly anticipated “Make America Wealthy Again” event which he said will restore the American dream and bolster jobs for U.S. workers. “American steel workers, auto workers, farmers and skilled craftsmen,” Trump said from the White House Rose Garden Wednesday afternoon. “We have a lot of them here with us today. They really suffered, gravely. They watched in anguish as foreign leaders have stolen our jobs, foreign cheaters have ransacked our factories, and foreign scavengers have torn apart our once beautiful American dream. We had an American dream that you don’t hear so much about. You did four years ago, and you are now. But you don’t too often.” “Now it’s our turn to prosper, and in so doing, use trillions and trillions of dollars to reduce our taxes and pay down our national debt,” he said. “And it will all happen very quickly. With today’s action, we are finally going to be able to make America great again, greater than ever before or. Jobs and factories will come roaring back into our country and you see it happening already. We will supercharge our domestic industrial base.” TRUMP TO DELIVER ‘LIBERATION DAY’ ANNOUNCEMENT FROM ROSE GARDEN FLANKED BY CABINET MEMBERS Trump was joined by members of his Cabinet for the highly anticipated announcement, which marked the first official presidential event held in the Rose Garden since Trump’s January inauguration. “For nations that treat us badly, we will calculate the combined rate of all their tariffs, nonmonetary barriers and other forms of cheating. And because we are being very kind, we will charge them approximately half of what they are and have been charging us. So the tariffs will be not a full reciprocal. I could have done that. Yes. But it would have been tough for a lot of countries,” he said. Trump pointed to the European Union, and explained the U.S. will charge its nations a 20% tariff, compared to its 39% tariffs on the U.S. Japan will see 24% tariffs compared to the 46% the country charges the U.S., while China will be hit with a 34% tariff compared to the 67% it charges the U.S. Trump rattled off the countries that will face the reciprocal tariffs, which also included nations such as Chile, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and others. Other nations will face 10% baseline tariffs, Trump said. Trump also railed against “non-tariff barriers” imposed on the U.S. Non-tariff barriers are understood as trade restrictions that limit international trade through means other than tariffs, such as quotas or regulations. Non-tariff barriers imposed by other countries on the U.S. commonly focus on agricultural goods, such as limits on meats and fresh produce the nation can export abroad. “For decades, the United States slashed trade barriers on other countries, while those nations placed massive tariffs on our products and created outrageous non-monetary barriers to decimate our industries,” Trump said. “And in many cases, the non-monetary barriers were worse than the monetary ones. They manipulated their currencies, subsidized their exports, stole our intellectual property, imposed exorbitant taxes to disadvantage our products, adopted unfair rules and technical standards, and created filthy pollution havens.” WALL STREET FIRMS SEE RECESSION RISK RISING OVER TARIFFS, TRADE WAR Trump said that for more than 100 years, the U.S. was a tariff-backed nation, which provided a surge of wealth. “From 1789 to 1913, we were a tariff-backed nation. And the United States was proportionately the wealthiest it has ever been,” he said. “So wealthy, in fact, that in the 1880s they established a commission to decide what they were going to do with the vast sums of money they were collecting. We were collecting so much money so fast, we didn’t know what to do with it. Isn’t that a nice problem to have?” Trump added that if nations “complain” about the tariffs, they should set up shop in the U.S. “And my answer is very simple. If they complain, if you want your tariff rate to be zero, then you build your product right here in America. Because there is no tariff. If you build your plant, your product in America. And we’ve seen companies coming in like we’ve never seen before,” he said. Trump and his administration have for weeks touted April 2 as “Liberation Day,” arguing that reciprocal tariffs will even the playing field for the U.S. after decades of unfair trading practices. “April 2nd, 2025, will go down as one of the most important days in modern American history,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said during Tuesday’s White House press briefing. “Our country has been one of the most open economies in the world, and we have the consumer base, hands down — the best consumer base. But too many foreign countries have their markets closed to our exports. This is fundamentally unfair.” Trump and his administration have touted that the tariff plan will encourage business in the U.S. as industries set up shop on American soil to avoid tariffs, opening up job opportunities for U.S. workers. TRUMP IS ‘ALWAYS UP FOR A GOOD NEGOTIATION,’ WHITE HOUSE SAYS, AS APRIL 2 ‘LIBERATION DAY’ TARIFFS LOOM White House trade advisor Peter Navarro previewed during a “Fox News Sunday” interview over the weekend that the new tariffs will generate $600 billion annually for the U.S. — or $6 trillion during the next decade. Details on Trump’s tariff plan remained hazy until his Wednesday announcement. The Liberation Day tariffs follow other tariffs Trump has leveled against foreign nations, including a 25% tariff on all aluminum and steel imports and a 20% tariff on goods from China that were leveraged to help curb the flow of deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl from China into the U.S. Trump’s previously announced 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada also are slated to take effect Wednesday after Trump granted temporary exemptions that expire on “Liberation Day.” EU THREATENS ‘FIRM COUNTER-MEASURES’ AS TRUMP’S TARIFF DEADLINE LOOMS Trump also announced a 25% tariff
Naval Academy tosses 400 books from library following Trump DEI expulsion orders
The U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, is pitching almost 400 books from its library, in accordance with directives from the Trump administration to eliminate content related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). “We can confirm the U.S. Naval Academy has removed nearly 400 books from their Nimitz Library collection in order to ensure compliance with all directives outlined in Executive Orders issued by the President,” a Navy spokesperson told Fox News Digital Wednesday. “Nimitz Library houses roughly 590,000 print books, 322 databases, and over 5,000 print journals and magazines to support the academic inquiries and intellectual development of Midshipmen.” A list of the books tossed was not available and no other details were immediately provided. President Donald Trump has signed multiple executive orders instructing federal agencies to remove DEI content, including an order in January that barred kindergarten through 12th grade institutions that receive federal funding from including DEI material in their curriculum. But the U.S. military service academies had previously remained exempt because they are not a kindergarten through 12th grade institution. NAVAL ACADEMY CLOSING DEI OFFICES TO ALIGN WITH TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDERS: MEMO The Naval Academy’s purge stemmed from an order from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s office, according to the Associated Press – although it’s unclear if Hegseth issued the directive himself or if it came from a staffer. The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital about whether Hegseth’s office directed the order, and if it had instructed the other service academies to purge DEI books from its libraries. Instead, the Pentagon directed Fox News Digital to the U.S. Naval Academy and shared a statement from chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell: “All service academies are fully committed to executing and implementing President Trump’s Executive Orders.” US NAVAL ACADEMY ENDS AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN ADMISSIONS: ‘IMPLEMENTING ALL DIRECTIVES’ Hegseth has remained vigilant about weeding out DEI programs from the Department of Defense. In January, he announced that the Pentagon would follow all orders from Trump to scrap DEI efforts from the military. “The President’s guidance (lawful orders) is clear: No more DEI at Dept. of Defense,” Hegseth wrote in an X post. “The Pentagon will comply, immediately. No exceptions, name-changes, or delays.” The Pentagon’s effort to eliminate DEI from its social media and websites initially prompted the removal of a swath of DOD web pages, including references to the Enola Gay aircraft responsible for dropping the atomic bomb in Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945. However, the Pentagon moved to restore some of these web pages – including ones that referenced Black veterans such as U.S. Army veteran and baseball player Jackie Robinson and the Tuskegee Airmen, the first Black military aviators in the Army Air Corps during World War II. Meanwhile, the Naval Academy’s library scrub comes days after documents from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals were made public Friday disclosing that the service academy will not take into account race, ethnicity or sex in admissions to the institution, in response to an executive order Trump issued in January. The Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that considering race in the higher education admissions process was unconstitutional, however, it provided a caveat for U.S. military academies. Previous legal filings from the Naval Academy said that while race rarely served as a factor in the admissions process, it occasionally did in a “limited fashion.” The U.S. Naval Academy is one of several elite service military academies, and trains undergraduate midshipmen for careers as officers in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. The Associated Press and Fox News’ Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.
Prisoners have no ‘constitutional right’ to sex changes, red-state AG tells court in brief backing Trump
Federal and state authorities are operating within the bounds of the U.S. Constitution when they deny federal prisoners access to taxpayer-funded sex change procedures for transgender inmates, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita told a U.S. district court this week. Rokita filed a 24-state amicus brief in support of President Donald Trump’s legal effort to uphold his executive order, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” which prohibits the use of federal taxpayer dollars for transgender procedures for inmates. “If we’re to lose this case, the floodgates will open, and you will see an unending amount of these cases being filed. Costs are going to go up for the state of Indiana to accommodate these unneeded, unnecessary and dangerous surgeries,” Rokita told Fox News Digital in an interview Wednesday. TRANS INMATE IN PRISON FOR KILLING BABY MUST GET GENDER SURGERY AT ‘EARLIEST OPPORTUNITY’: JUDGE Rokita is also helping his state fight a two-year legal battle brought on by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of a transgender inmate — convicted of killing his 11-month-old baby — to receive a sex-change surgery. The federal judge in the case, Clinton appointee Richard Young, repeatedly ruled that the inmate must be given gender surgery at the “earliest opportunity,” despite Indiana’s law barring the state Department of Corrections from using taxpayer funds to cover sex reassignment surgeries for inmates. Rokita has filed an appeal of that decision. “It’s absolutely imperative that not only President Trump’s executive orders stand, but that Indiana wins this case,” Rokita said. ACLU SUES INDIANA OVER DENIAL OF SEX REASSIGNMENT SURGERY FOR INMATE WHO STRANGLED 11-MONTH-OLD TO DEATH Both Rokita and the Trump administration’s cases deal with the accusation that prohibiting so called “gender-affirming care” for inmates violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of “cruel and unusual punishment.” In the Trump case, an inmate anonymously identified as Maria Moe, is being represented by advocacy groups GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders and National Center for Lesbian Rights and Lowenstein Sandler LLP. Once Trump signed the executive order, Moe was transferred to a men’s prison facility, and BOP records changed the sex from “female” to “male,” the complaint says. Several inmates who signed onto the lawsuit as plaintiffs were also transferred to men’s facilities to match their biological sex, but are now being sent back to women’s facilities after U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, a Reagan appointee, issued a preliminary injunction blocking the executive order last week. TRANS INMATE WHO KILLED BABY AND IDENTIFIES AS MUSLIM WOMAN SUES CHAPLAIN FOR ALLEGEDLY NOT ALLOWING HIJAB “The politics of some of these courts these days, and playing into this is really a head scratcher,” Rokita said. “But the chaos that would ensue in the prison system, with all these jailhouse lawyers, all of a sudden… the expense of the taxpayer would be astronomical.”
UK PM blasts incoming US tariffs
NewsFeed As President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs roll out, some global leaders are pushing back. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer says Britain will take a “calm, pragmatic” stance on the sweeping measures, warning a trade war is “in nobody’s interests.” Published On 2 Apr 20252 Apr 2025 Adblock test (Why?)
Donald Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ arrives with promise of tariffs
[unable to retrieve full-text content] Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” has arrived in the US, with the president preparing to impose massive tariffs
Danish PM promises to support Greenland against US pressure
Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen says her country remains ‘Greenland’s closest partner’ during a three-day trip to Greenland. Denmark’s prime minister has pledged to support Greenland against US President Donald Trump’s expressions of interest in acquiring the Danish semi-autonomous territory as she landed in Nuuk for talks with its incoming government. Mette Frederiksen began her three-day trip to the vast Arctic island less than a week after a visit to the territory by US Vice President JD Vance drew a frosty reception from authorities in Denmark and Greenland. “The US shall not take over Greenland. Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders,” Frederiksen told reporters in the capital Nuuk on Wednesday. The Danish leader said she wanted to support Greenland “in a very, very difficult situation”. Ahead of her visit, she had said she aimed to strengthen Copenhagen’s ties with the island and emphasised the importance of respectful cooperation at a time of what she described as “great pressure on Greenland”. Greenland’s incoming Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, who won last month’s parliamentary election and will form a coalition government, has welcomed Frederiksen’s trip, saying that Denmark remains “Greenland’s closest partner”. Advertisement Frederiksen promised to do what she could to ensure equal rights to Greenlanders and Danes within the Danish realm. “Most of all, we need to discuss the foreign and security policy situation, geopolitics, and how we approach this very, very difficult task together because that is what it is all about now.” Nielsen’s new coalition is expected to formally take office on April 7. In addition to meeting Nielsen, Frederiksen is also expected to meet with the future Naalakkersuisut, the Cabinet, during her visit, which is expected to last through Friday. Greenland is a mineral-rich, strategically critical island that is becoming more accessible because of climate change. Trump has said that the landmass is critical to US security. The country offers the shortest route from North America to Europe, giving the US a strategic upper hand for its military and ballistic missile early-warning system. ‘Respectful’ relationship Relations between Greenland and Denmark have been strained after revelations in recent years of historical mistreatment of Greenlanders under colonial rule. Trump’s interest in controlling Greenland, part of a growing international focus on competition for influence in the Arctic, has prompted Denmark to step up efforts to improve relations with the island. Nielsen told Reuters news agency late on Monday that Greenland would strengthen its ties with Denmark until it could fulfil its ultimate wish to become a sovereign nation. Experts have said that the US’s interest in a takeover has actually reinforced Greenland’s ties with Copenhagen. Advertisement Richard Powell, professor of Arctic studies at the University of Cambridge, told Al Jazeera that while independence was still a “broadly popular long-term goal”, Trump’s interest in the country has “consolidated Greenland’s future within the Kingdom of Denmark, at least for the next couple of decades”. Greenland wishes to establish a “respectful” relationship with the United States, Nielsen said. “Talking about annexation and talking about acquiring Greenland and not respecting the sovereignty is not respectful. So let’s start by being respectful to each other and build up a great partnership on everything,” he said. Frederiksen’s visit is primarily about signalling support at a time of intense scrutiny, said Ulrik Pram Gad, an academic at the Danish Institute for International Studies. “It is important for Denmark to signal to Greenland that Denmark is Greenland’s closest friend and ally – and to the US that it stands behind Greenland,” he said. During his visit to a US military base in northern Greenland last Friday, Vance accused Denmark of not doing a good job of keeping the island safe and suggested the US would better protect the strategically located territory. Frederiksen, who has said it is up to the people of Greenland to decide their own future, called Vance’s description of Denmark “not fair”. Opinion polls show that a majority of Greenland’s 57,000 inhabitants support independence from Denmark, but many oppose seeking independence too quickly, fearing their island could become worse off and expose itself to US interests. Advertisement Adblock test (Why?)
More than 40 people arrested at Texas home amid Tren de Aragua investigation
Authorities did not say how the individuals arrested in Hays County may be tied to the Venezuelan gang. It was also unclear what criminal charges people may face, though drugs were seized.
Trump education sec drops in on House Dems press conference with non-partisan message: ‘About the children’
Education Secretary Linda McMahon gave unexpected remarks in the spirit of nonpartisanship at the House Democrats’ press conference on Wednesday, but she did not answer when pressed on the timing of the DOE shutting its doors. McMahon stopped by the Democrats’ press conference outside the building for the Department of Education, which she has promised to dismantle in line with President Donald Trump’s recent executive order. Beforehand, she met with Rep. Mark Tankano, D-Calif., and at least ten other Democratic members to discuss concerns over recent layoffs. The department announced last month it was initiating its reduction in force mission, impacting nearly 50% of its workforce. “I just want to express my gratitude to all of these folks who came today so that we get to have an open discussion about what I believe is one of the most important things that we can have a discussion on on our action in our country, and that is the education of our young people,” McMahon said on Wednesday. “As Representative Tankano said as we were ending the meeting, which I thought was incredibly appropriate, and that is that this is not a partisan issue. This is about the children of America, and it’s the next generation to generation after that. And if we want to have our leaders, if we want to have that next, group of engineers and doctors and lawyers and plumbers, electricians and HVAC operators, then we need to focus on how they can best have their education.” LINDA MCMAHON SAYS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION WON’T PUNISH STATES THAT REFUSE TO ADOPT SCHOOL CHOICE “And I believe, and I know the president does believe this as well, the best education is that that is closest to the child, where teachers and parents, local superintendents – working together and local school boards to develop the curriculum for those students – is the best way that it can happen,” she said. “Funding from the United States government will continue through the programs, that is, that have already been established, and I will look forward to continuing to work with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle. And I welcome the fact that these folks came today and expressed their concerns and shared in an open, collegial format their concerns and how we can lead now to work more together. That’s the way it ought to operate. And I’m very happy to have had them here.” As McMahon concluded her remarks and attempted to turn the event back over to Democrats, Tankano interjected with a question for the secretary. “When are you going to shut down this building?” he asked her in front of news cameras. “Well, we’ve had our discussions already, so thank you all,” McMahon said, leaving the podium and walking back into the building. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION SIGNIFICANTLY DISMANTLED IN NEW TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDER “As you see, she’s not answering the question when she’s going to shut down the Department of Education,” Tankano told reporters. “Now she doesn’t have a plan. And while she doesn’t have a plan, they’re continuing to look at firing people, reduction and reverse a reduction in force.” Tankano told reporters that during their meeting McMahon expressed “ambiguity” regarding when she would carry out Trump’s campaign promise of shuttering the Department of Education. He said she vowed to consult appropriate statute. Tankano also noted that McMahon said during her Senate confirmation hearing that she would consult with Congress as far as when it would be lights out for the department. Congress established the Department of Education in 1979 and will most likely need to approve its dismantling. Republicans have floated legislation to achieve that goal. Trump signed an executive order on March 20 to significantly scale down the department while maintaining some of its core functions. It was unclear whether the department would continue to manage its $1.6 trillion federal student loan portfolio, as the order’s language suggested bank functions could be moved to a more suitable entity. Privatization seems to remain on the table for the administration. “I have to say that the Secretary indicated more than once, that before she moved any functions of the department to other departments and the other place that, she was looking carefully at what the statute allows her to do,” Tankano said on Wednesday. “That was refreshing information that the secretary relayed to all of us, and we certainly hope she sticks to what she told us today.” “I think part of the story of today is, you know, [the] president’s campaign promise to shut this department down, is a lot of fluff. It’s. You can’t, it’s illegal. He can’t do it by law,” he added.
Senate Dems foreshadow more forced votes to block Trump’s emergency orders
Senate Democrats signaled more challenges to President Donald Trump’s emergency declarations at a press conference ahead of a forced floor vote to undo his tariffs against Canada. “One at a time,” Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told reporters on Wednesday when asked if we would also be introducing a privileged resolution canceling Trump’s emergency declaration in Mexico. “Let’s get this one done. And if we can get this one done and succeed, then we also have to see what President Trump does this afternoon,” he explained, referencing the president’s planned remarks on tariffs at 4 p.m. in the White House’s Rose Garden. SCOOP: LINDSEY GRAHAM AMENDMENT SIGNALS GOP BUDGET BREAKTHROUGH, SETS STAGE FOR TRUMP AGENDA “There may be a whole new series of trade or tariff-related motions coming your way soon,” the Virginia Democrat said. Kaine did note that “Canada and Mexico are not completely the same because of some of the issues with respect to fentanyl,” so it’s unclear whether he would seek to challenge the Mexico emergency specifically. The Wednesday press conference was led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to rail against Trump’s Canadian tariffs. “So we’re going to fight these tariffs tooth and nail,” he said. “Trump’s done a lot of bad things. This is way up there.” The White House did not immediately provide comment to Fox News Digital. TRUMP, SENATE GOP BUDGET LEADERS HUDDLE AT WHITE HOUSE ON RECONCILIATION BILL Kaine’s challenge to Trump’s Canadian tariffs will get a vote on Wednesday evening, and it runs the risk of being agreed to and sent to the White House, as some Republicans have expressed concerns. “Mr. President, the price hikes that will happen for Maine families, every time they go to the grocery store, they fill their gas tank, they fill their heating oil tank, if these tariffs go into effect, will be so harmful. And as price hikes always do, they will hurt those the most who can afford them the least. Therefore, I will support this resolution, and I urge my colleagues to do so likewise,” Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said in floor remarks on Wednesday. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has been a longtime critic of tariffs, even under Trump, will also be voting in favor of the resolution and is a co-sponsor. DISTRICT JUDGES’ ORDERS BLOCKING TRUMP AGENDA FACE HEARING IN TOP SENATE COMMITTEE Trump took to social media to call out those he suspected might vote against him. “Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Rand Paul, also of Kentucky, will hopefully get on the Republican bandwagon, for a change, and fight the Democrats wild and flagrant push to not penalize Canada for the sale, into our Country, of large amounts of Fentanyl, by Tariffing the value of this horrible and deadly drug in order to make it more costly to distribute and buy,” he wrote on Truth Social. Last month, Kaine similarly forced a vote to end Trump’s emergency declaration to “unleash American energy” and increase oil drilling and production of natural gas. The resolution was voted down, and the White House claimed Kaine wanted “to impoverish Americans.” “President Donald Trump’s executive order brings America into the future and unleashes prosperity. Senator [Tim] Kaine wants to cost the economy trillions and risk losing nearly a million jobs,” deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said at the time. DEMS MUM ON TRUMP’S COURT FIGHTS DESPITE TRYING TO LIMIT BIDEN-BLOCKING JUDGES The White House has also warned of a likely veto if the Canadian tariff resolution is agreed to in the Senate. A White House official told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement on Tuesday, “President Trump promised to secure our borders and stop the scourge of fentanyl that’s poisoning our communities, and he’s delivering. Democrat Senator Tim Kaine is trying to undermine the President’s Emergency Declaration at our Northern Borders – a measure that prioritizes our national security – for reasons that defy logic.”
These are the ‘Dirty 15’ countries Trump might target with Liberation Day tariffs
President Donald Trump is poised to unveil a massive series of reciprocal tariffs Wednesday, when he will likely impose duties on multiple countries as part of what his administration has labeled “Liberation Day.” Trump and his administration have long decried that other countries are engaging in unfair trade practices against the U.S., and have advocated for employing tariffs to rectify the nation’s 2024 record $1.2 trillion trade deficit. Despite previewing this massive round of tariffs forthcoming Wednesday, the White House has remained reticent regarding the specifics of the potential tariffs and which countries it plans to target. Even so, speculation has emerged about a list of countries, known as the “Dirty 15,” that might face new duties. The term “Dirty 15” stems from an interview Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent conducted March 18 with FOX Business, where he referenced the 15% of countries that make up the largest trade deficits with the U.S. However, Bessent did not cite specific countries. TRUMP IS ‘ALWAYS UP FOR A GOOD NEGOTIATION,’ WHITE HOUSE SAYS, AS APRIL 2 ‘LIBERATION DAY’ TARIFFS LOOM Even so, the Trump administration has given some clues and has pointed to specific countries in certain official documents. For example, countries that were singled out in a notice the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative posted in March for a review of “unfair” trade practices included Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom and Vietnam. Additionally, the 2024 Commerce Department trade deficit report cited the following countries as those with the highest trading deficit with the U.S.: China, European Union, Mexico, Vietnam, Ireland, Germany, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Canada, India, Thailand, Italy, Switzerland, Malaysia and Indonesia. The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. The White House did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital requesting specifics on which countries would face new tariffs and which were on the “Dirty 15” list. Trump has signaled that the tariffs would go beyond just 15 countries. He suggested to reporters on Air Force One Sunday that tariffs wouldn’t just affect 15 countries, claiming that “you’d start with all countries.” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday Trump was conducting meetings with his trade team that day, and the tariffs would take effect immediately following a Wednesday Rose Garden ceremony. Liberation Day will “go down as one of the most important days in modern American history,” Leavitt said Tuesday, and shared that Trump has talked with various countries about the potential tariffs they may face. “I can tell you there have been quite a few countries that have called the president and have called his team, in discussion about these tariffs,” Leavitt told reporters Tuesday. EU THREATENS ‘FIRM COUNTER-MEASURES’ AS TRUMP’S TARIFF DEADLINE LOOMS Leavitt also shut down concerns that the tariffs wouldn’t prove effective and would raise prices for consumers. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have voiced concerns about how tariffs would impact their constituents, including former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. McConnell said in February that broad tariffs would drive up “costs for consumers across the board.” But Leavitt said the tariffs would bolster the U.S. economy. “It is going to work, and the president has a brilliant team of advisors 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,” Leavitt said Tuesday. While details on the specifics are sparse, the new reciprocal tariffs are expected to match other countries’ tariff rates, and also tackle issues like regulations, government subsidies and exchange rate policies to mitigate trade barriers. “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. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!” Trump wrote in a March post on Truth Social about Liberation Day. The Trump administration already has imposed a 20% tariff on shipments from China, 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, up to 25% tariffs on certain goods from Mexico and Canada, as well as a 25% tariff on imported auto vehicles. Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.