WASHINGTON–White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Wednesday, when President Donald Trump will announce his reciprocal tariffs, will be looked on as “one of the most important days” in the nation’s modern history.
During a White House press briefing Tuesday, Leavitt previewed the forthcoming tariff announcement coming on Wednesday, which Trump has dubbed “Liberation Day.”
"April 2, 2025, will go down as one of the most important days in modern American history," says @PressSec.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 1, 2025
"America will offer companies the lowest taxes, energy costs, regulations if they make their products right here in the United States and hire American workers." pic.twitter.com/Ra5m7LhmYg
“Our country has been one of the most open economies in the world, and we have… hands down, the best consumer base, but too many foreign countries have their markets closed to our exports. This is fundamentally unfair,” she said.
“The lack of reciprocity contributes to our large and persistent annual trade deficit that’s gutted our industries and hollowed out key workforces,” Leavitt said, adding that the days of America “being ripped off are over” starting Wednesday.
Leavitt told reporters that the tariffs will bolster America’s competitiveness across industries, “reduce our massive trade deficits and ultimately protect our economic and national security.”
Leavitt stressed that companies manufacturing their products in the United States will not face tariffs and highlighted the influx of significant investments in America that have been announced since Trump returned to office.
Some of the largest ones include a $500 billion investment between OpenAI, Oracle, and Softbank for their Stargate project; a $500 billion investment from Apple; Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s (TSMC) $100 billion investment announcement, as well as hundreds of billions of dollars Nvidia is set to commit.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday that he thinks that investments announced since he took office will soon reach $5 trillion.
“I THINK WE ARE GOING TO HAVE 5 TRILLION OF INVESTMENTS”. - President @realDonaldTrump: “The jobs are coming with it!” pic.twitter.com/1NydLrwKkH
— Real America's Voice (RAV) (@RealAmVoice) March 31, 2025
“I think that we’re going to be at $5 trillion of investment … We’re already $3.5 [trillion] and we have commitments, verbal commitments, for a lot more, and numbers like that have never been done in this country,” he said.
