President Donald Trump said Monday that his administration is not considering a pause on his new sweeping tariffs, even as global stock markets continue to plunge.
“We’re not looking at that,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “We have many, many countries that are coming to negotiate deals with us, and they’re going to be fair deals. In certain cases, they’re going to be paying substantial tariffs.”
Trump’s remarks come hours after comments from his top economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, were misinterpreted to mean that Trump was considering a 90-day pause in tariffs for all countries, except China. The confusion caused a brief, yet dramatic, turnaround in Wall Street stocks, but stocks started dropping again once the White House confirmed the reported pause was “fake news.”
Wall Street stocks have been on the decline since last week, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping for a third consecutive day. The Dow plunged more than 1,700 points on Monday before swinging some 2,595 points upward. It fell about 350 points upon closing for the day.
Since the president announced his baseline 10 percent tariffs and varying “discounted reciprocal tariffs” on “Liberation Day” last Wednesday, several countries indicated they would suspend their taxes on American goods if the U.S. does the same in negotiations with those foreign nations. Zimbabwe, Vietnam, and Taiwan are among 50 countries that have already contacted the White House about a potential deal.
Trump noted he spoke with the Japanese prime minister Monday morning about a possible deal.
Meanwhile, he threatened to impose an additional 50 percent tariff on China by Tuesday if Beijing doesn’t back down from its 34 percent retaliatory tariff to match Trump’s own 34 percent tariff on Chinese goods. The 34 percent U.S. tariff on China follows Trump’s initial 20 percent tariffs against China.
Trump’s comments coincide with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s second visit to the White House since the Republican returned to office.
In the Oval Office meeting, Netanyahu said Israel wants to eliminate the trade deficit with the U.S. by getting rids of its tariffs on American goods. Trump announced a 17 percent tariff on Israel last week, despite Israel preemptively canceling its respective tariffs on the U.S. Unless the two nations can come to an agreement, Trump’s tariff on Israel will take effect Wednesday.
While the Oval Office meeting proceeded as planned, Trump and Netanyahu’s joint press conference was canceled without an explanation from the White House.
The administration has pushed mixed messaging about the end goal of the newly announced tariffs. Asked whether the tariffs are permanent or simply a negotiating tactic, Trump responded, “Both can be true.”
“There can be permanent tariffs, and there can also be negotiations because there are things we need beyond tariffs,” he said. “So we’re going to get fair deals and good deals with every country.”