By Collin Eaton, Alex Leary and Gavin Bade
WASHINGTON -- President Trump said tariffs on industrial sectors such as automobiles and pharmaceuticals would be forthcoming but declined to say whether they would be announced April 2, the day he previously slated to unveil the industrial levies.
The U.S. will announce automotive tariffs "very shortly," and will unveil pharmaceutical tariffs "at some point," Trump said Monday during a cabinet meeting, without offering further details.
The administration a day earlier had indicated sectoral tariffs likely wouldn't be announced on April 2, though the White House would still impose reciprocal levies that day seeking to equalize U.S. tariffs with the ones charged by other nations. The administration is also expected to take other trade barriers, such as value-added taxes, into account when implementing its reciprocal tariffs.
Trump had also teased tariffs on semiconductors and agricultural products that day.
The reciprocal duties are expected to hit targeted countries with higher tariffs on April 2, but a White House spokesman said officials were still weighing which other tariffs to unveil, and when.
"President Trump has consistently pushed to defend industry sectors that have been undermined by unfair foreign trade practices but are critical for America's economic and national security," said White House spokesperson Kush Desai. "No final decisions have been made, however, on if any additional sectoral tariffs will be part of President Trump's April 2 reciprocal tariff announcement."
Trump's comments on industrial tariffs came hours after he announced that the U.S. would impose a 25% tariff on any country that buys oil or gas from Venezuela.
On Monday, the Treasury Department extended Chevron's license to operate in Venezuela through late May. Last month, Trump's administration signaled it would give Chevron 30 days to wind down operations in the Latin American country, which would have ended its operations there in early April.
Chevron had lobbied for an extension of the license, which would allow the company a longer period to safely wind down. Both the tariff idea and an extension of Chevron's license was discussed during a White House meeting last week with Trump, Chevron CEO Mike Wirth and other oil executives and U.S. officials.
The Biden administration had granted Chevron a license to resume operations in Venezuela in 2022, after the first Trump administration had barred the company from the Latin American country during a "maximum pressure" campaign to oust Venezuela's leader, strongman Nicolás Maduro.
The Treasury Department said Chevron's general license didn't allow the company to pay any taxes or royalties to Venezuela or export oil to anywhere other than the U.S.
The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for additional details. Chevron declined to comment.
Trump described the move as a "secondary tariff" on Venezuela over the flow of migrants to the U.S., including members of the Tren de Aragua gang. The Trump administration has said it is deporting alleged members of the gang as part of its deportation efforts. Venezuela over the weekend said it would resume repatriation of migrants after suspending such flights because of the withdrawal of the Chevron license.
Among the countries that import Venezuelan crude are China, India, Spain and Malaysia.
"Venezuela has been very hostile to the United States and the Freedoms which we espouse," Trump wrote. "Therefore, any Country that purchases Oil and/or Gas from Venezuela will be forced to pay a Tariff of 25% to the United States on any Trade they do with our Country."
The measure would go into effect on April 2, Trump said, the same day he intends to impose reciprocal tariffs on a targeted set of nations.
Write to Collin Eaton at collin.eaton@wsj.com, Alex Leary at alex.leary@wsj.com and Gavin Bade at gavin.bade@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 24, 2025 13:50 ET (17:50 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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