Trump not interested in tariff negotiations with Europe 'unless they pay lot of money'

Trump indicated he was not concerned about losses that have wiped out trillions of dollars in value from world stock markets

US President Donald Trump said he is not interested in negotiating with Europe over tariffs and he won’t lift the duties imposed “unless they pay a lot of money”.

Trump said he had spoken to leaders from Europe and Asia over the weekend, who hope to convince him to lower tariffs as high as 50 percent due to take effect this week.

"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," Trump said.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump indicated he was not concerned about losses that have wiped out trillions of dollars in value from world stock markets.

"I don't want anything to go down. But sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something," he said as he returned from a weekend of golf in Florida.

The relations between the US and the European Union has worsened since the beginning of Trump’s second term. Carlos Cuerpo, the Spanish minister for Economy, Trade and Business, on Monday said the Union needs to be open to all potential means of retaliation against US tariffs

“We have to somehow avoid taking off the table any instrument, we have the proper tools, the necessary tools to respond, so none of them should be discarded at this point,” he told Bloomberg Television. “We’re open to negotiations, we’re open to trade, but we will not be naive.”

The carnage in financial markets unleashed by President Trump’s tariffs is continuing unabated as equities get pummeled and US stock futures show that last week’s $5 trillion wipeout isn’t over.

S&P 500 futures pointed to a loss of about 5 percent when Wall Street starts trading. Treasuries rallied, pushing the 10-year yield to 3.9 percent. From Shanghai to London, investors bailed on any kind of risky asset. Europe’s Stoxx 600 tumbled 6% and Asia’s index posted its steepest loss since 2008.

Trump struck a defiant tone on his tariff policy and dashed any hopes of a quick U-turn, telling reporters on Sunday evening to “forget markets for a second.”

With agency inputs