US President-elect Donald Trump on Monday denied a Washington Post report claiming his aides were exploring tariff plans that would apply to all countries but be limited to specific critical imports, including critical minerals and the energy production sector.
As a candidate, Trump called for “universal” tariffs on all imported goods, proposing rates as high as 10% to 20%, along with a 60% tariff on Chinese products.
According to the Washington Post, current discussions instead focus on imposing tariffs only on certain sectors deemed critical to national or economic security. These include the defense industrial supply chain (through tariffs on steel, iron, aluminum, and copper); critical medical supplies (such as syringes, needles, vials, and pharmaceutical materials); and energy production (including batteries, rare earth minerals, and solar panels), according to two sources cited by the publication.
The aides reportedly stated that the plans remain in flux and have not been finalized.
“The story in the Washington Post, quoting so-called anonymous sources—which don’t exist—incorrectly states that my tariff policy will be pared back. That is wrong. The Washington Post knows it’s wrong. It’s just another example of Fake News,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
European stocks and currencies rallied sharply on Monday following the newspaper’s report. Copper prices surged by as much as 3.2%.
Last month, Reuters reported that a Trump transition team document had recommended imposing tariffs on all electric battery materials globally to boost US production, with the intention of negotiating individual exemptions with allies. The document called for tariffs on imports related to the EV supply chain, including batteries, critical minerals, and charging components.
