Although tariffs on those partners could cover the majority of goods coming into the United States, the more targeted approach nevertheless represents a significant pullback from some of the harshest tariffs Trump had promised.

However, Trump signaled that if tariffs on various products are delayed, they won’t be delayed for very long.

“We need steel, we need pharmaceuticals, we need aluminum, we need a lot of these things that we sort of don’t make anymore, and yet we’re equipped to do it all,” Trump said Monday at the conclusion of a Cabinet meeting. “So we’ll be announcing some of these things in the very near future – not the long future. The very near future.”

Tariffs on cars, he suggested, could come first, saying there’d be an announcement “very shortly.”

Room for flexibility

The administration has been setting the stage for a walkback for days. Trump in the Oval Office Friday hinted that his administration would allow for “flexibility” on tariffs – the first sign of potential exemptions after he had pledged there would be none .

Trump still said he was hesitant to issue carve-outs on tariffs, but he has acknowledged in the past that tariffs enacted with a sledge hammer instead of a scalpel can at times inflict undue harm on Americans and US interests.

“I don’t change. But the word ‘flexibility’ is an important word,” Trump said Friday. “So there’ll be flexibility, but basically it’s reciprocal,” he added, noting most tariffs will simply match foreign countries’ taxes dollar for dollar with no carve-outs.

Meanwhile, negotiations are ongoing. The EU last Thursday postponed its retaliatory tariffs , which were set to go into effect April 1, as talks continue. Mexico and Canada delayed plans to retaliate against US tariffs as officials negotiate.

Trump on Monday said the US will also impose 25% tariffs on any country that purchases oil from Venezuela. US markets appeared to shrug off the comments and stocks continued to build on this morning’s rally.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.33% as investors sold bonds in favor of riskier assets like stocks, reflecting easing concerns about the impact of Trump’s tariffs. Yields and prices move in opposite directions. Wall Street’s fear gauge, the Cboe Volatility Index, or VIX, slid more than 8% to its lowest level this month.

CNN’s Fear and Greed Index , which had been in “extreme fear” territory since February 25, shifted into just “fear” — a sign of slightly improving sentiment on Wall Street.

But Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs are giving investors, businesses, trading partners and consumers a serious dose of whiplash.

On again, off again

We’ve been here before .

Trump campaigned on steep tariffs on Day One, but he failed to deliver on that promise. Instead, he signed several executive actions on his first day in office ordering his administration to investigate whether to pursue tariffs on a wide range of goods. He did, however, announce that 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico would be coming February 1.

February 1 came, and, rather than the promised tariffs, Trump said the tariffs would come February 4. Then, on the eve of their taking effect, Trump announced monthlong delays on Canadian and Mexican tariffs after both countries sent delegations to negotiate, offering minor increases to existing border security and promises to take more action to restrict fentanyl crossing into the United States.

Tariffs on China went into place February 4 – but not at the 60% level Trump had promised in December. The 10% tariffs came with a surprising twist: The elimination of the de minimis exclusion , a loophole that allows goods valued at less than $800 to come over the border duty-free. Those packages are numerous and onerous for customs officials to scan for tariffs.

The next day, the US Postal Service stopped all package deliveries from China from entering the United States because it was unable to abide by the new trade policy. But hours later, the de minimis exclusion was back on – temporarily – until the Commerce Department could determine how to police it.

Then, Trump promised a “big one,” as he called it: reciprocal tariffs.

Instead, the plan, as it were, which Trump announced in the Oval Office on February 13 to much fanfare, consisted of a vaguely worded memo that offered few concrete details. Stocks surged that day as investors celebrated a tariff policy that appeared to be a lot of bark with no bite.

On March 3, the 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico went into effect – for three days. On March 6, Trump delayed all tariffs on its neighboring countries that comply with the USMCA trade agreement.

On March 11, Trump threatened a 50% tariff on Canada’s aluminum and steel but backed off the same day after Ontario agreed to suspend its 25% surcharge on electricity exports to Michigan, Minnesota and New York. The president has also threatened tariffs of up to 250% on Canadian dairy, reciprocal tariffs on Canadian lumber and 200% tariffs on European alcohol. It’s unclear what the status of those threats is.

Trump implemented tariffs on all imported steel and aluminum March 12, although they didn’t represent a significant increase over what was already in place.

The back and forth has created volatility on Wall Street, confusion for consumers and massive amounts of uncertainty for businesses, who are paralyzed by their inability to plan for what’s next.

CNN’s John Towfighi and Alejandra Jaramillo contributed to this report.

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