President Donald Trump said he is not looking to pause his tariffs before they go into effect Wednesday, despite turmoil in the stock market and global economic fears.
“We’re not looking at that,” Trump said Monday when asked if he was thinking about taking more time to enact his sweeping tariffs. Instead, the president said countries could work to restore balance in trade relations with the U.S. through other actions.
"We have many, many countries that are coming to negotiate deals with us," Trump said. "They’re going to be fair deals, and in certain cases, they’re going to be paying substantial tariffs."
For some, those discussions are already underway, with the president touting a “very good” conversation with Japan on Monday, and saying that he expects that his administration will soon be speaking with China, among other nations. Tariffs on China are expected to rise to 104% on Wednesday.
China’s Ministry of Commerce responded by saying it would take “countermeasures” if the U.S. raises tariffs further.
“If the U.S. escalates tariff measures, China will resolutely take countermeasures to safeguard its own interests. The so-called ‘reciprocal tariffs’ imposed by the U.S. on China are baseless and represent typical unilateral bullying,” the ministry said in a statement.
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When asked if the overall tariffs are permanent or open to negotiation — a point that his advisers struggled to clarify last week — Trump insisted that “they can both be true.”
“There could be permanent, and there could also be negotiations, because there are things that we need beyond tariffs,” he said. “So we’re going to get fair deals and good deals with every country.”
Trump’s comments follow days of market turbulence following his announcement last week of sweeping global tariffs. U.S. stock markets closed down again Monday after wavering through the day.
During an extended back-and-forth over his tariff plans, the president broached his tariff agenda in legacy-defining terms, telling reporters that “it would be nice to serve the nice, easy term, but we have an opportunity to change the fabric of our country.”
He added, “It’s the only chance our country will have to reset the table — because no other president would be willing to do what I’m doing or to even go through it. Now, I don’t mind going through it because I see a beautiful picture at the end.”
Next to him sat Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who moments earlier had promised to eliminate "very quickly" a trade deficit with the United States, as well as certain trade barriers. For nations looking to get back on even footing with the White House, Netanyahu said Israel could “serve as a model.”
“Sometimes you have to take medicine,” Trump said over the weekend.
