The big roll-out of Trump's tariff plan promised uncertainty for pretty much everyone, since Trump apparently pulled the whole idea out of his nether regions while in an impotent rage about other things. Fellow Republicans were very much in the dark.
Finally, he made his announcement, tariffs of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum, and declaring that—for now—Canada and Mexico will be exempt, because of "the unique nature of our relationship with Canada and Mexico" because "we are negotiating NAFTA—we are going to hold off the tariff, to see whether or not we are able to make a deal on NAFTA," which may or may not have been part of what he was supposed to be announcing. It definitely had the whiff of something he made up entirely on the spot, because it's that kind of announcement. These tariffs, he said, are “absolutely vital” to national security. “Steel is steel,” he said. “Without it you don’t have a country.” It was not a terribly coherent announcement, in case you were wondering.
He says it's going to be a "very fair process" to countries who treat us fairly, whatever that means. Earlier in the day, Trump suggested that "Australia and 'other countries' might also be spared, a shift that could soften the international blow amid threats of retaliation by trading partners."
"We’re going to be very fair, we’re going to be very flexible but we’re going to protect the American worker as I said I would do in my campaign,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting. […]
The people briefed on the plans said all countries affected by the tariffs would be invited to negotiate with the Trump administration to be exempted from the tariffs if they can address the threat their exports pose to U.S. manufacturers. The people said the exclusions for Canada and Mexico could be ended if talks to renegotiate NAFTA stall.
So, world, you are now invited to start bribing Trump. Because that's pretty much what this is, extortion.