President Donald Trump said he was open to reducing his tariffs if other nations were able to offer something “phenomenal,” indicating that the White House was open to negotiations despite the insistence of some top officials.
Trump, speaking on Air Force One on Thursday, broadly defended his tariff program despite a stock market meltdown, saying he was happy that interest rates were falling and believed that the economic turbulence would settle.
“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate,” Trump said, adding that “every country has called us.”
Asked if that meant he was considering relenting, Trump said it “depends.”
“If somebody said that we’re going to give you something that’s so phenomenal, as long as they’re giving us something that’s good,” Trump said.
The president spoke after one of the worst days for stocks since the height of the coronavirus pandemic. About $2.5 trillion was erased from the S&P 500, with the gauge down about 5%. The Russell 2000 of smaller firms extended its plunge from a 2021 all-time high to 20% on speculation the president’s trade offensive will stunt the American economy. The dollar slid 1.5%.
Trump reiterated that he would, in particular, be willing to offer tariff relief for China if Beijing approved the sale of the US operations of ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok social video app. The service is facing a Saturday deadline for divestment, unless Trump offers an extension as part of his efforts to broker an agreement.
Trump said they were “very close to a deal.”
“I think that maybe China will call and say, ‘well, we’re upset with the tariffs,’ and maybe they want to get something a little bit in order to get TikTok approved,” Trump said, while cautioning he had “no knowledge” that Beijing would seek that approach.
Trump indicated he had spent the day in conversations with foreign governments and business leaders seeking tariff relief. The president said he spoke to automaker executives on Thursday, but declined to name them, as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom Trump said could visit the US next week.
Israel earlier this week removed its tariffs on US goods in hopes of being spared from Trump’s tariffs, but the White House announced that Israeli goods would face a 17% rate.
“I think our markets are going to boom. Got to give it a chance,” Trump said. “Got to give it a little bit of time.”
Trump pointed out a fall in energy prices and 10-year yields, casting them as a positive.
“One thing I like is interest rates going down, like groceries going down,” he said. “I like eggs going down, if you look at it. And very importantly, the gasoline prices are going down.”
The US president also said he believed the UK was happy about its treatment under his new tariff regime. The UK is facing the minimum 10% tariff, while European Union nations have seen a 20% rate imposed.
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