Seattle Times carrying a WaPo item without any subscription solicitation or paywall:
President-elect Donald Trump’s aides are exploring tariff plans that would be applied to every country but only cover critical imports, three people familiar with the matter said — a key shift from his plans during the 2024 presidential campaign.
If implemented, the emerging plans would pare back the most sweeping elements of Trump’s campaign plans but still would be likely to upend global trade and carry major consequences for the U.S. economy and consumers.
[...] The potential change reflects a recognition that Trump’s initial plans — which would have been immediately noticeable in the price of food imports and cheap consumer electronics — could prove politically unpopular and disruptive. But consideration of universal tariffs of some kind still reflects the Trump team’s determination to implement measures that can’t be easily circumvented by having products shipped via a third country.
Exactly which imports or industries would face tariffs was not immediately clear. Preliminary discussions have largely focused on several key sectors that the Trump team wants to bring back to the United States, the people said. Those include the defense industrial supply chain (through tariffs on steel, iron, aluminum and copper); critical medical supplies (syringes, needles, vials and pharmaceutical materials); and energy production (batteries, rare earth minerals and even solar panels), two of the people said.
It’s also unclear how these plans intersect with Trump’s stated intent to impose 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada and an additional 10 percent tariff on China unless they take measures to reduce migration and drug trafficking. Many business leaders view those measures as unlikely to ever take effect, but some people familiar with the matter said they could be imposed along with universal tariffs on key sectors.
[...] Among those leading the internal planning is Vince Haley, a top Trump campaign aide slated to run the White House Domestic Policy Council; Scott Bessent, tapped to be Trump’s treasury secretary; and Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary pick, the people said.
[...] After this story was published on Monday morning, Trump criticized The Washington Post’s reporting in a post on his Truth Social site and said his tariff policy would not be pared back.
“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,” Trump wrote. “The Washington Post knows it’s wrong. It’s just another example of Fake News.”
So, ducking the question? Adamant? Guess.
It is not like the H-1B situation where massive contributor Elon Musk forced the issue with Trump changing horses midstream, keeping Musk happy while Vance remains silent these days.