Trump to impose reciprocal tariffs as planned on Wednesday

"The lack of reciprocity contributes to our large and persistent annual trade deficit that's gutted our industries and hollowed out key workforces," White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said at a press briefing on Tuesday. "But those days of America, beginning tomorrow, being ripped off are over."

Leavitt also confirmed that an additional 25 percent tariff on all cars made outside of the United States, announced by Trump last week, will take effect as planned on Thursday.

Leavitt accused "too many foreign countries" of unfairly closing their markets to U.S. exports and said she thinks the tariffs targeting goods from around the world "will be effective immediately."

The White House said Trump is set to unveil an array of new tariffs at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, which he has called "Liberation Day."

The announcement will be made at an event dubbed "Make America Wealthy Again" in the Rose Garden at the White House, it said.

The scale and scope of the trade barriers, which could throw the global economy into turmoil, are largely unknown.

But Trump has said the rates of his planned import tax hikes will not necessarily match those placed by other countries on imports from the United States, suggesting they will be much lower than he initially trumpeted.

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that the Trump administration is considering around 20 percent tariffs on most foreign imports. But Leavitt stopped short of disclosing details of the tariffs ahead of Trump's announcement.

It was earlier reported that Trump's 25% auto tariff will take effect April 3 with no exemptions.