U.S. President Donald Trump shows the media a photo accompanied by a message for Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (not pictured), during a joint press conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., Feb.7. EPA-Yonhap

U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that he will announce "reciprocal" tariffs next week, as he is seeking to slap tariffs on U.S. imports to match other countries' tariff rates on U.S. exports.

Sitting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba for a White House summit, Trump made the announcement. It remains unknown which countries would be subject to new U.S. tariffs.

Trump has been using tariffs as a tool to address America's trade deficits and achieve other policy goals, such as preventing the inflow of illegal migrants and drugs, including fentanyl, into the United States.

"I will be announcing that next week ... reciprocal trade so that we are treated evenly with other countries," he said, noting that "it affects everybody." "We don't want any more or any less."

He also said that an auto tariff is "always on the table."

"It's a very big deal ... We have cases where we don't supply autos and other countries do," he said. "We have to stabilize it and equalize it."

During a joint press conference after the summit, Trump said that reciprocal tariffs will be announced following a meeting set for Monday or Tuesday.

"Probably reciprocal tariffs where a country pays so much or charges us so much, and we do the same ... so very reciprocal," he said.

"Because I think that's the only fair way to do it. That way, nobody is hurt. They charge us. We charge them. It's the same thing."

Trump imposed a 10-percent additional tariff on all Chinese imports, starting Tuesday, while he has agreed to pause tariffs on Canada and Mexico for a month following the two countries' pledge to bolster efforts to prevent drug trafficking at their borders with the U.S.

Before the summit between Trump and Ishiba, a senior Trump administration official said that the president pays a "lot of attention" to trade deficits, saying that it is an "indication of the economic fairness and the strength of the relationship" with U.S. trading partners. (Yonhap)