Trump reportedly pushes his team to be more ‘aggressive’ with tariffs – including a 20% levy for all countries

President Donald Trump is pushing his administration to be more aggressive with its tariff plan – including a 20 percent levy on all trading partners, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Trump has called Wednesday “Liberation Day” when massive tariffs – including car imports – begin. Now, there are reports that he wants his team to be more aggressive in tariffs that he claims will help balance the playing field for American manufacturers.

In recent weeks, Trump has downplayed his widespread tariffs on various nations, stating he would be “much more generous” than previous pledges for equal tariffs across the board, according to the Journal.

Now, the president is encouraging his team to create plans that would apply a higher rate of tariffs on a range of countries. He backed that idea Sunday saying he would target “essentially” every one the U.S. trading partners for tariffs.

Tariffs, which raise prices on certain imported goods, can pressure American manufacturers to ramp up production and create more jobs. But they can also hurt American consumers by forcing companies to raise prices – thus passing the tariff cost onto buyers.

Over the weekend, Trump brushed off concerns about the impacts of tariffs, telling NBC News he “couldn’t care less” if automakers raised prices after he announced 25 percent tariffs on foreign-made vehicles.

“I couldn’t care less. I hope they raise their prices because if they do, people are gonna buy American-made cars,” Trump said.

An aide to the president later clarified that Trump was referring to the increase in foreign car prices.

The president has previously acknowledged that his tariff plan will likely cause “a little disturbance” to the U.S. economy but downplayed its potential impact and asserted that it will be worthwhile in the long term.

So far, Trump has imposed 25 percent tariffs on aluminum and steel, 10 percent tariffs on China and 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico – though they’ve been delayed twice.

Trump’s team is considering a global tariff of 20 percent on all goods, according to the Journal. It was a proposal he touted while on the campaign trail, but he dropped it in favor of a reciprocal tariff plan.

That reciprocal plan – what they charge the U.S., the U.S. will charge them, as Trump puts it – is still on the table, an unnamed administration official told the Journal. Trump wants to tariff every country the U.S. has a trade deficit with and demand a “clean number” for each country. The official stressed that no final decisions have been made, however.

No matter the details, Trump wants the final plan to be “big and simple,” the official noted.

The administration is also looking at a slew of industry-specific tariffs that could impact critical minerals and products that contain them, according to the Journal.

Members of Trump’s team have downplayed recession or inflation concerns with tariffs in recent days, even as stock markets slump each time the president discusses them.

“I think the naysayers will be proven wrong if they’re a little bit nervous about the blips from this week to next,” National Economic Council chair Kevin Hassett told Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures.