Trump Says No Pause on Tariffs, But Open to Negotiations
President Donald Trump said he wasn’t considering a pause on his plan to implement sweeping additional tariffs on dozens of countries despite outreach from trading partners to eager to avoid the levies, while still signaling he could be open to some negotiations.
“We’re not looking at that,” Trump said on Monday while meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office.
Trump said tariffs were “very important” to his economic agenda — and would generally remain — while opening the door to “fair deal and good deals with every country.”
“There can be permanent tariffs and there can also be negotiations because there are things that we need beyond tariffs,” Trump said.
In the meeting, Netanyahu said his country would work to eliminate trade barriers and deficits with the US.
“We will eliminate the trade deficit with the United States,” Netanyahu told reporters during the meeting. “We intend to do it very quickly. We think it’s the right thing to do. And we’re going to also eliminate trade barriers.”
The visit, with one of Trump’s closest political allies, is an early test case for what Trump may be looking for in trade talks. Netanyahu acknowledged as much, saying Israel could “serve as a model for many countries” on how to approach the trade dispute.
The US president said he hoped to maintain a good relationship with Japan, though wanted the country to remove barriers to US agricultural products. He also reiterated his vow, made earlier Monday, to add another 50% of tariffs on Chinese goods if they did not remove a 34% retaliatory tariff.
“I have a great relationship with President Xi,” Trump said, referring to Chinese leader Xi Jinping. “I hope it’s going to stay that way.”
Netanyahu is the first foreign leader to visit the White House since the US president last week unveiled a new slate of levies on other nations that have sent global markets into a tailspin and raised fears of a recession. Netanyahu’s visit and his ability to secure a deal with Trump that could spare his country in the trade fight was being closely watched by other US trading partners.
Trump and administration officials have been sending mixed messages about their willingness to negotiate, with a 10% levy on all countries already in effect and targeted reciprocal import taxes set for Wednesday — raising hopes that an agreement between the US and Israel could provide a framework for other nations.
Their meeting capped a tumultuous day that saw US stocks swing wildly over a swirl of headlines related to Trump’s trade policies, wiping out a 4% plunge to rise more than 3% before turning negative again. The volatility was made worse by an erroneous report about Trump’s willingness to consider a tariff pause, which the White House denied.
Source : Bloomberg
