President Trump Elaborates on His Vision for Reciprocal Tariffs, Which are Already Causing Prices Increases in Construction

Speaking in the Oval Office today, President Trump told reporters that his reciprocal tariff plan set to take effect April 2^nd will assign tariff rates to all countries that have their own tariffs on U.S. goods and that countries with non-tariff trade policies the Administration deems equivalent to tariffs, such as value-added taxes, could also be subject to new duties.

Trump asserted that there would be “flexibility” in his reciprocal tariff plan but made clear he dislikes one-off exceptions because “once you do that for one, you have to do that for all.” Trump also said that he plans to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping about trade issues. The CEO of developer Related Group says that even before President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs take effect, the uncertainty they are creating has caused building contractors to hike prices as much as 20%, a trend he says is sure to increase the cost of new condos and homes.