Unclear Future for Trump's 'Liberation Day'

Uncertainty still surrounds President Donald Trump's planned tariff announcement on "Liberation Day" Wednesday, with many questions remaining about the specifics of the tariffs he has described as reciprocal. The administration has not publicly announced the details of the tariffs, which are expected to take effect immediately.

Trump will hold a "Make America Wealthy Again" event from the Rose Garden, attended by American workers, congressional members, cabinet members, and trade and economic officials. According to an administration official, the broad decisions had been made, but details were being fine-tuned.

"They're not going to be wrong. It is going to work. And the president has a brilliant team of advisers who have been studying these issues for decades. And we are focused on restoring the golden age of America and making America manufacturing superpower,"

said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

The tariffs are part of Trump's trade policy, which aims to address what the administration views as unfair trade with other nations, boost manufacturing, and raise revenue. Senior officials are in alignment on why Trump wants to pursue tariffs, though decisions were still being made at last check.

Several considerations have been on the table, including reciprocal rates by country and a 20 percent universal rate. Starting in the early days of his second term in office, Trump had been presented different options his trade team had put together, and weighing them closely, an official noted at that time. More recently, Trump has indicated potential for leniency.

“The tariffs will be far more generous than those countries were to us, meaning they will be kinder than those countries were to the United States of America over the decades. They ripped us off like no country has ever been ripped off in history and we're going to be much nicer than they were to us. But it's substantial money for the country nevertheless,”

Trump said Sunday.

Other countries, however, have indicated they are preparing for retaliatory responses or reserve the right to respond, including Canada, Mexico, the UK, the EU, China, and Japan. “These tariffs he’s proposing are enormous so we should expect the retaliation to be enormous,”

said Brendan Duke, senior director of federal budget policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

The future of "Liberation Day" – a proposed national holiday commemorating the end of World War II – remains uncertain under the Trump administration."It's not just about celebrating a victory, it's about honoring those who fought and died for our country," said Representative Elaine Luria (D-Va.), one of the original sponsors of the bill. "I hope that we can get back to focusing on what this day is truly about."The idea of creating a national holiday to mark the end of World War II was first floated by Trump in 2018, and was met with skepticism from some lawmakers."What's the point of having another national holiday? It's not like it's going to make a difference in people's lives," said Representative Steve King (R-Iowa). "We should be focusing on the things that really matter."Despite the mixed reactions, the proposal gained momentum and was even included in Trump's 2020 budget. However, with Trump's presidency coming to an end, it remains unclear whether "Liberation Day" will ever come to fruition.