Trump Promised Some Tariffs Immediately. They’re Not Here — Yet.

Donald Trump vowed on the campaign trail to slap tariffs as high as 20 percent on everything from cars to food when he took the White House.

Four days into office, Trump hasn’t immediately followed through on an issue that has consumed him for decades, including some levies that he promised to implement on Day One.

The approach is a sign that Trump has likely not made up his mind about exactly what paths he will use to levy tariffs, and when he will levy them, according to three people familiar with discussions inside the administration, granted anonymity to speak about policies that have yet to be decided. He also must decide whether he will target specific countries with extra-high trade duties, and whether he will make carve-outs for certain industries or products.

The striking level of uncertainty around tariffs is the first and most prominent example of a divide in Trump’s circle on a major policy position.

But make no mistake, Trump insiders caution: Tariffs are coming.

"Tariffs are coming in the next couple months — broad based, universal tariffs,” said one person familiar with discussions inside the administration, granted anonymity to speak about policies that have yet to be decided. “Literally, if you just listen to Trump talk — it is all he talks about."

“The president is serious about the universal tariff,” a second person familiar with the discussions added.

The ambiguity around the rest of the tariff agenda is, in part, because Trump continues to take counsel from two camps. In one is Treasury secretary nominee Scott Bessent and Kevin Hassett, who Trump picked to lead his National Economic Council. They have historically expressed a more cautious view on trade and are arguing for more gradual and targeted tariffs that won’t spook the markets or spike inflation.

In the other camp is U.S. Trade Representative pick Jamieson Greer as well as Peter Navarro, Trump’s senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, and Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy. They represent the more protectionist side, supportive of across-the-board tariffs.

The president did take some immediate action upon taking office. He issued a sweeping executive order to look into the issue with an April deadline, and punted tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China to Feb. 1. But the order to look into tariffs made no immediate or drastic changes and neither provided foreign countries nor business leaders any real clarity on what Trump may do.

After his election in November, Trump pledged to set duty rates on China at 10 percent, and vowed to impose 25 percent duties on Mexico and Canada because of what he called their role in illegal migration and drug trafficking.

Trump added a sense of urgency — but no clarity — at a press conference Thursday when he said he is considering tariffs on China in the next two weeks.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Some of Trump’s allies on Capitol Hill, including from states with large agriculture industries, appear to be hoping the delay is a negotiating tactic — and that at some point Trump will declare victory and back down.

“He's getting results without actually imposing anything — at this state in the game,” said Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.). “Doesn’t mean something won’t be imposed. But at this point, there has been no change. We continue to talk with our friends in Canada, and they're really tough negotiators, as the president says."

Indeed, foreign leaders have responded.

Newly elected Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum sharply pushed back on Trump’s threats and vowed to retaliate in a letter she sent to Trump in November, but recently tried to present Mexico as committed to combating illegal drug trafficking.

Canadian officials also promised to retaliate, but signaled their willingness to step up and focus on addressing concerns outlined by the president. Canada sent top ministers to Florida last month to discuss border security with the incoming Trump administration.

Trump, himself, has made clear he’s open to dealmaking. He recently spoke with Chinese leader Xi Jinping to discuss “balancing trade, fentanyl and TikTok and many other subjects,” according to a Truth Social post. He’s also signaled Mexico and Canada could avoid the new duties if they address the issues he’s outlined around fentanyl and illegal migration.

But the president also underscored his enduring devotion to tariffs in virtual remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday.

“If you don’t make your product in America, you will have to pay a tariff,” Trump said simply.

The executive order he issued Monday underscores the varied purposes behind his tariffs, from protecting domestic industries to pressuring foreign countries — and concerns that sweeping tariffs, which are paid by importers, will put upward pressure on inflation.

It also comes on the heels of scrutiny from some of the more protectionist elements of his base, who quietly fumed after Trump failed to follow through on Day One tariffs.

Trump’s blueprint tasks a broad range of federal agencies and departments with investigating trade deals and potentially unfair treatment from the country’s largest trading partners. Evidence from those probes could bolster the administration’s case that it has the authority to impose tariffs under authorities Trump used in 2018 to place duties on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods. That, in turn, could gird the administration against any future legal challenges.

“The presidential memo suggests a fundamental overhaul and rethink of U.S. trading relationships,” said Kelly Ann Shaw, a partner at Hogan Lovells and a former senior trade adviser during the first Trump administration. “It’s significant.”

The threat of new tariffs in less than two weeks puts those countries under fresh pressure from the president to acquiesce and make a deal — although Trump on Tuesday swatted down claims that he was using those tariffs as leverage as part of those negotiations.

“It has nothing to do with that,” Trump told reporters, adding that both Canada and Mexico have both “allowed millions and millions of people to come into our country that shouldn't be here. They could have stopped them, and they didn’t.”

And while Trump has a broad mandate to enact his agenda, he still must contend with the reality that several of his key economic advisers, including Greer, Bessent and his choice for Commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, are before the Senate for confirmation. While Bessent has been approved by the Finance Committee, and is awaiting a floor vote, and Lutnick’s confirmation hearing is planned for next week, Greer’s has yet to be set — possible leverage for skeptical senators who could hammer Trump’s picks on the need to maintain the U.S.' continued open trading relationship with Canada and Mexico.

One Republican in touch with the administration on tariffs, granted anonymity to discuss private conversations, said Trump’s economic officials have been having a range of conversations with representatives from potentially affected industries as they try to understand the impact that tariffs would have and figure out how to best structure them.

"What you don't want to do, if you're them, is create a crisis,” the person said. “We're trying to help them understand what the impact will be if they do it wrong.”

Adam Cancryn and Doug Palmer contributed to this report.