U.S. President Donald Trump has made it clear that his administration will not consider temporarily halting tariffs during trade negotiations with other countries. His comment comes at a time when global markets are already responding to the U.S.’s tough stance on trade.
“We’re not looking at that,” Trump said in a speech at the White House during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, when asked about the possibility of ‘suspension’ tariffs in negotiations.
Trump reiterated his commitment to reprocessing the international trade agreement, saying the United States is determined to reach a “fair” deal. “We have many countries that can negotiate deals with us and they will be fair deals, and in some cases they will pay a lot of tariffs. It will be fair deals,” he said.
The president defended his aggressive tariff strategy to determine what he called a long-term trade imbalance and growing national debt. “We have $36 trillion in debt for a reason,” Trump pointed out.
Trump also targeted China to raise tariffs on the United States, warning of further action. “If the tariff is not removed at 12 o’clock tomorrow, we will invest 50% on 50% above the tariffs we impose. They have become a wealthy country because of the people in the White House.” This is after China imposed a retaliatory tariff of 34% on U.S. products.
Despite criticism, Trump stressed that he still valued relations with Chinese President Xi Jinping. “I have a good relationship with President Xi Jinping. I hope it keeps that way. I have a good respect for China, but they can’t do it. We’re just going to have a shot of it and no other president will do it. I’ll tell you what: It’s an honor to do it because we’ve just been destroyed,” he said. ”
When asked if some tariffs might be removed while others remain in place, Trump said both are possible. “They can be both true. There may be permanent tariffs, and there may be negotiations.”
He also made it clear that the United States would leave countries that were reluctant to provide fair terms. “We will have fair deals and good deals with every country – if we don’t do that, we will have nothing to do with them,” he said.
Trump has not given up on the EU either. He accused the EU of forming a group, which gave it an unfair advantage in trade. “For years, the EU has been very tough. The damage to the U.S. in trade is formed… They don’t take our cars like Japan does. They don’t adopt our agricultural products; they actually do anything. They actually do anything. They actually do anything. They put millions of cars into the U.S., but we don’t sell cars to the EU or elsewhere,” he said. ”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in response to Trump’s criticism that the EU is open to dialogue but is also ready to respond. “Europe is ready to negotiate with the United States. We have zero tariffs for industrial products. Because we are always ready to pay a good deal. But we are also ready to respond with countermeasures and protect ourselves from indirect effects through trade transfers.”
(with ANI input)
