Official statements from the Trump administration or analysis by reputable news outlets

Trump Denies Report on Critical Import Tariffs, Calls Washington Post Story 'Fake News'

Jan 6, 2025, 02:30 PM

President-elect Donald Trump's aides are considering tariff plans that would apply to all countries but only cover critical imports, according to a report by The Washington Post's Jeff Stein. This represents a potential shift from Trump's 2024 presidential campaign promise of imposing universal tariffs on all goods from all countries. The report suggests that Trump's team is exploring tariffs targeting specific critical sectors deemed essential to national or economic security, and the news reportedly caused movements in financial markets. However, Trump has denied the report, calling it 'just another example of fake news' and stating that his tariff policy will not be pared back. He asserted that the 'so-called anonymous sources, which don't exist,' are falsely claiming a policy shift.