President Donald Trump has spoken out on the hot topic that concerns the global trading scene: US Tariffs. “We’re going to become a wealthy nation again — wealthy like never before,” he told reporters on Sunday. “We have all the advantages. Forget markets for a second — we have all the advantage.”
He even had a response to the plummetting numbers: “I don’t want anything to go down, but sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something.” In the wake of the tariffs turmoil, US stock futures slipped while the yen surged. The scene is expected to fall apart as trading picks up again on Monday.
Trump tariff negotiations on but president puts his foots down
Although more than 50 nations have reportedly reached out to initiate the negotiation cycle, seeking respite from Trump’s tariffs, the US president has pushed back against the ongoing debate. Donald Trump said that he won’t back down on his tariffs on imports from the international market, according to AP News. He’s keen on pushing for an even trade balance even though markets have plunged since the fated Liberation Day announcement.
“I spoke to a lot of leaders, European, Asian, from all over the world,” the MAGA leader said. “They’re dying to make a deal. And I said, we’re not going to have deficits with your country. We’re not going to do that, because to me a deficit is a loss. We’re going to have surpluses or at worst, going to be breaking even.” The Republican president also posted online on Friday, “WE WILL WIN. HANG TOUGH, it won’t be easy.”
Trump also dealt with the trade deficit with China, saying, “We have to solve our trade deficit with China. We have a trillion-dollar trade deficit with China, hundreds of billions of dollars a year we lose with China. And unless we solve that problem, I’m not going to make a deal.” He added that he was willing to deal with China, “but they have to solve their surplus.”
Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pointed out unfair trade practices are not “the kind of thing you can negotiate away in days or weeks.” In line with Trump’s comments, he added, the country will first weigh in the options and “what the countries offer and whether it’s believable.”
Bessent also noted there “doesn’t have to be a recession. Who knows how the market is going to react in a day, in a week?” He asserted “What we are looking at is building the long-term economic fundamentals for prosperity.”
Elon Musk vs Donald Trump on tariffs
The US tariff talk has since also driven a wedge between Donald Trump and his “First Buddy” Elon Musk. Despite previously staying silent on the matter, the billionaire Tesla boss said at a weekend event in Italy that he hoped for the US and Europe to strike a “zero-tariff situation.” White House trade adviser Peter Navarro consequently slammed his opinion, arguing that since Musk sells cars, he’s bent on “protecting his own interest as any business person would do.”