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Donald Trump’s Treasury secretary Scott Bessent is pushing for new universal tariffs on US imports to start at 2.5 per cent and rise gradually, said four people familiar with the proposal.
The 2.5 per cent levy would move higher by the same amount each month, the people familiar with it said, giving businesses time to adjust and countries the chance to negotiate with the US president’s administration.
The levies could be pushed up to as high as 20 per cent — in line with Trump’s maximalist position on the campaign trail last year. But a gradual introduction would be more moderate than the immediate action some countries feared.
The proposal by Bessent comes as Trump’s team debates how to implement tariff plans, with the president escalating his tariff rhetoric on Monday in a speech in Florida, threatening more duties on semiconductors, metals and pharmaceutical goods.
“We have to bring production back to our country,” Trump said.
The president was speaking after a day of turmoil in US stock markets, triggered by a tech sell-off as China appeared to make a leap ahead of the US in the global artificial intelligence race.
His threat to impose tariffs on semiconductors entering the US would be difficult to carry out given the impact on tech companies relying on chipmakers such as Taiwan’s TSMC.
In contrast, Bessent’s plan would see just 2.5 per cent added to tariffs each month. Two people familiar with the discussions said it was unclear if the Treasury secretary had convinced other central stakeholders, including Howard Lutnick, Trump’s pick for commerce secretary, to adopt his proposal for a gradual introduction of tariffs.
Tariff policy is at the centre of fierce trade debates between hawks such as Peter Navarro and Jamieson Greer, and moderates such as Bessent. The Wall Street investor was comfortably confirmed as the next US Treasury secretary by a Senate vote of 68-29 on Monday evening.
Trump has threatened to force tariffs of up to 25 per cent on imports from Canada and Mexico as soon as this weekend, and in recent days threatened Colombia with 25 per cent tariffs in a dispute over deportees.
Another person familiar with Trump’s thinking said he was weighing different options. “There is not a single plan the president is ready to decide on yet.”
A person familiar with Bessent’s thinking declined to comment on the record about the proposal, but said: “He is not drawing up any plans but if confirmed looks forward to being a part of the conversation.”
While Bessent and other proponents of the low initial tariff believe it would give countries and companies time to adjust and negotiate, critics counter that a higher initial rate would send a clearer message.
Trump made high tariffs a core of his “America First” campaign rhetoric last year, vowing in September to “tax” foreign nations “at levels that they’re not used to”.
But since his inauguration on January 20, the president’s main move has been to publish a memorandum outlining probes into US trade policy, the cause of the country’s trade deficits and whether competitors are manipulating currencies and unfairly taxing US businesses.
When asked by reporters last week whether he planned to introduce universal tariffs, Trump replied: “We may. But we’re not ready for that yet.”
Trade analysts and lawyers have said Trump could levy universal tariffs swiftly by using executive powers such as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which allows the president to respond to emergencies through economic means.
However, trade experts have also warned the use of IEEPA to issue broad tariffs would likely face legal challenges by business groups.
Trump, who has long railed against the US’s trade deficit, has suggested tariffs would be a way to raise revenue for the country.
“Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich other countries, we will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens,” he said in his inaugural address.
In his US Senate confirmation hearings last week, Bessent said the Trump administration would use tariffs to tackle unfair trade practices, raise US government revenues, and strike deals with foreign countries.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Additional reporting by Myles McCormick in Washington
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