According to The Wall Street Journal, officials in the Trump administration are engaged in intense debate over how to implement the President's promise of reciprocal tariffs, with aides racing against the self-imposed deadline of April 2 set by Trump to launch a plan.

Insiders revealed that officials have recently been considering whether it would be possible to simplify the complex task of establishing new tariff rates for hundreds of U.S. trading partners by categorizing countries into three tariff tiers. They emphasized that the situation is still evolving, and new developments may arise in the coming weeks. A government official familiar with the discussions stated that the proposal was later rejected, adding that Trump's team is still working on how to create personalized rates for each country.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated, "Many proposals have been discussed, and when the President is ready to announce a plan, the American people will hear it directly from him."

Trump has repeatedly stated that reciprocal tariffs mean "whatever they charge us, we charge them." This will be a daunting task, as officials need to customize tariff rates for hundreds of countries and regions with which the USA trades globally. In addition to this reciprocal tariff plan, Trump has previously issued other tariff threats, such as imposing a 25% import tariff on Mexico and Canada over the fentanyl smuggling issue, as well as tariffs on imports in specific industries like Steel and Aluminum.

During a meeting last Thursday, officials discussed a simplified three-tier tariff proposal (i.e., low, medium, and high rates), with participants including White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller, Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russ Vought, as well as Senior Trade and Manufacturing Advisor Peter Navarro.

Officials discussed multiple proposals, including the three-tier tariff plan. However, a government official stated that when officials gathered again on Friday to discuss the plan, the proposal to categorize the tariff tiers was rejected in favor of a personalized approach. The official indicated that the team is currently debating how to determine tariff rates.

According to insiders, Vice President JD Vance has played a larger role in Trump's trade agenda in recent weeks and has chaired some policy discussions. In recent weeks, Trump's senior aides have held several lengthy meetings, including a marathon session lasting several hours at the Vice President's residence at the Naval Observatory in Washington. The core of these meetings is how to formulate a comprehensive tariff policy that accomplishes Trump's goals while allowing for greater flexibility.

An official participating in the discussion stated that a reciprocal tariff policy will be advanced, and the current goal is to clarify how these tariffs will be implemented and how to respond to potential legal challenges.

Trump plans to launch a reciprocal tariff plan on April 2, while also imposing an additional 25% tariff on a few industries such as Autos, Semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals.

Officials are considering how to advance this plan without overwhelming the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, which has over 200 staff members responsible for formulating the reciprocal tariff plan. The Wall Street Journal previously reported that implementing reciprocal tariffs on tariffs and non-tariff barriers against each trade partner could take six months or longer.

Regardless of what plan the government ultimately determines, officials expect that they will consider the value-added tax imposed by many other countries on domestic Consumer.

For example, in Mexico, the value-added tax is equivalent to a 16% federal sales tax, although some essential Commodities and services may enjoy exemptions or lower rates. Trump's team has consistently viewed these taxes as discriminatory, as Mexican exporting companies can receive refunds, while U.S. companies selling goods to countries imposing value-added tax still have to pay these taxes.

Last week, during negotiations with the USA, Mexico and Canada have been trying to convince officials of the Trump administration that they deserve to be classified under the lowest tariff tier.

According to an informed source, one of Mexico's priorities is that the difference between its tariffs and those of other countries is large enough for Mexico to continue being an attractive nearshore destination for manufacturing and exporting goods to the USA. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum stated last week that she would wait until April 2 to decide whether to retaliate against Trump's reciprocal tariffs.

Canadian officials stated that they welcome the USA's efforts to weigh trade relations with different countries through a tiered system. However, last week, when Canadian cabinet officials, the ambassador to the USA, and the Premier of Ontario visited Washington D.C., U.S. officials told them that the tariffs to be implemented on April 2 are almost a done deal.

Editor/Rocky