WASHINGTON (Kyodo) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday he plans to unleash additional auto tariffs in the "next few days," suggesting the announcement will be made earlier than initially planned.

Following an order from Trump, the White House said separately that a tariff of 25 percent may be imposed on all goods from any country that buys oil from Venezuela, starting on or after April 2.

China is one of the major importers of oil from the South American country, with Trump saying the planned 25 percent duty will be added to any existing levies.

During a White House event, Trump said without further elaboration that he will likely unveil new tariffs on automobiles imported from other countries "fairly soon," before "April 2 comes," fueling confusion about the timing of the trade action widely expected to affect Japanese and other foreign carmakers.

Trump made the remarks following U.S. media reports over the weekend that he was set to implement reciprocal tariffs as planned on April 2, but sector-based tariffs, such as those targeting the foreign auto and semiconductor industries, were likely to be announced after that date.

Trump had said tariffs of around 25 percent on imported cars, up from the current 2.5 percent, would be announced on April 2 along with matching tariffs on U.S. trading partners.

He has characterized the date as "liberation day," repeatedly insisting that the United States has been "ripped off" by its allies and adversaries for many years.

On Monday, Trump said the upcoming additional tariffs will include levies on lumber and semiconductors as well.

During a Cabinet meeting earlier in the day, Trump also said new tariffs on pharmaceuticals would come "at some point in the not-too-distant (future)."

Bloomberg reported Saturday that Trump's forthcoming tariffs are expected to be more targeted than the barrage he has occasionally threatened.

At the White House event, which was held for South Korea's Hyundai Motor Group to announce an investment of $21 billion in the United States from 2025 to 2028, Trump praised his tariff-centric economic policy as a way to generate wealth and jobs for the American people.

"We'll be bringing some of the money back that's been taken from us" on April 2, he said.

But in response to a question from a reporter about the scale of reciprocal tariffs, he said, "I may give a lot of countries breaks."

In addition to indicating the possibility of excluding some countries from his proposed reciprocal duties and not including every type of tariff on that date, he said his planned hikes will not necessarily match the rates that other countries charge on imports.

Signaling the likelihood of dialing back his initial pledge, he said, "We may take less than what they're charging because they've charged us so much, I don't think they could take it...I'm embarrassed to charge them what they've charged us, but it'll be substantial."

On his planned tariff concerning Venezuela, Trump said in a social media post that the decision was made due to "numerous reasons," claiming, for example, that the country has "purposefully and deceitfully" sent "tens of thousands" of criminals to the United States.

China, the main importer of Venezuelan oil, said it "firmly rejects" the "illicit unilateral sanctions," with Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun accusing Washington of "interfering grossly" with other countries' internal affairs.

"Trade wars will have no winners. Additional tariffs will only cause greater losses to U.S. businesses and consumers," Guo told a press conference in Beijing on Tuesday.