President Donald Trump said he was not intentionally fuelling a market selloff but gave no indication he’s preparing to claw back the tariff barrage that has wiped trillions in value from US equities.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One after a weekend of golf in Florida, Trump said any deal to trim tariffs with affected nations must lead to the elimination of the US trade deficit.
“I don’t want anything to go down, but sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something,” Trump said as US equity futures slumped and the yen surged in a sign of deepening turmoil from the tariffs.
Trump said he’d spoken with several unidentified world leaders. He repeated that the goal of the tariffs is to fully eliminate bilateral deficits — a tall order for the world’s biggest economy where consumer spending, and cheap goods, is a core driver of growth.
“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, we’re going to be breaking even,” he said.
The comments are the latest in a parade of defiant signals from Trump and his top economic aides in the face of the widespread sell-off that has sharply increased worries about a recession.
“We have to solve our trade deficit,” particularly with China, Trump said. He said he wouldn’t make a deal unless it drives down the US trade deficit in goods with China. “I want that solved,” he said.
Asked whether his tariffs will upend back-to-school shopping later this year, Trump said, “I don’t think inflation’s going to be a big deal.”
“We’re not going to lose a trillion dollars for the privilege of buying pencils from China,” he said.
Trump’s initial, across-the-board 10% tariff took effect Saturday and the higher tariffs, including 34% for China, kick in this week. Trump is also teasing additional, sector-specific tariffs that would add on top, though those industries would be exempt from the reciprocal tariffs announced this month.
“China right now is taking a big hit because everyone knows we’re right,” Trump said.
Trump also took aim at Europe, going so far as to say he wants not only parity in trade but reparations.
“We put a big tariff on Europe. They are coming to the table, they want to talk, but there’s no talk unless they pay us a lot of money on a yearly basis, number one for present but also for past,” he said.
. Read more on Economy & Finance by NDTV Profit.He wants to eliminate bilateral trade deficits, particularly with China, and won’t make a deal unless it drives down the US trade deficit in goods with China. Read MoreEconomy & Finance, Global Economics, Bloomberg
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