Trump said tariffs could increase, as he alleviated fears of the recession.
US President Donald Trump said global tariffs are unlikely to be lowered, but “probably rising.”
In an interview with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday, Trump has curbed concerns about the looming recession after a week of turbulent U.S. stock markets as investors further uncertainty about the tariffs on Trump.
Trump exempted certain products traded under North American Free Trade Rules on Thursday. In the following hours, the S&P 500 had the worst trading days, while the Nasdaq fell 2.6%, and the Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.0%.
Trump said of the stock market that the U.S. is “experienced disruptions, but we can all do it.”
When Bartiromo asked why he was suspending some tariffs, Trump said: “I want to help Mexico and Canada to a certain extent” and he also wanted to “help American automakers.”
“We are a big country, they do a lot of business with us, and in our case, it means much less. By contrast, we do little with Canada,” Trump said.
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“I think it’s a fair thing, so I gave them a little rest in a short time.”
Under pressure from Bartiromo, who feared that his policies (especially his lack of clarity on tariffs) could lead to a recession, Trump dismissed the recession, saying “Tariffs may increase over time.”
“We might be sucking some tariffs, and I don’t think we’re going to go down, but we might go up, but, you know, they have a lot of clarity. They just use it. Like, it’s almost a voice. They always say, “We want clarity.” ””
Trump said Friday that he will also impose new tariffs on Canadian dairy and wood soon, matching his “extremely high” responsibilities for Canada to ship the products to the U.S.
The tariffs, if reached, appear to be different from the so-called reciprocity tariffs Trump plans to impose on April 2
They will also impose a 25% tariff on Canadian goods starting Tuesday and a 10% tariff on Canadian energy.
When Bartiromo asked about “concerns about slowing down,” he said, “I hate to predict things like this. There was a transition for a while because we were doing a lot. We brought wealth back to the United States. That was a big thing. And there were always some periods – it took a little time – but I think it should be great for us.”
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