President Donald Trump said he is not considering a pause on his plan to implement sweeping additional tariffs on dozens of countries despite outreach from trading partners eager to avoid the levies.
Speaking on Monday while meeting with Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office, Mr Trump signalled he could be open to some negotiations on tariffs.
He said tariffs are “very important” to his economic agenda and will generally remain.
“There can be permanent tariffs and there can also be negotiations because there are things that we need beyond tariffs,” he added.
Mr Trump said selling energy to the European Union will be a key focus as his administration seeks to eliminate a trade deficit with the bloc.
“The European Union’s been very bad to us ... They’re going to have to buy their energy from us, because they need it and they’re going to have to buy it from us,” he said.
The president said the US has a $350 billion trade deficit with the EU that is “going to disappear fast”. He said “we can knock off” this €350 billion in one week if the EU buys American energy. He said the US has more energy than any other country, including “clean, beautiful coal”, oil and gas.
Mr Trump’s comments follow mixed messages from the president and his top officials about the administration’s willingness to negotiate with trading partners, with a 10 per cent levy on all countries already in effect and targeted reciprocal import taxes set for Wednesday. That uncertainty has fueled volatility in global markets and sent foreign leaders frustrated by his approach rushing to secure deals with the US.
In the meeting, Mr Netanyahu said his country will work to eliminate trade barriers and deficits with the US.
“We will eliminate the trade deficit with the United States,” Netanyahu told reporters. “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.”
But, underscoring the difficulty of divining Mr Trump’s intentions, the president said even that might not be enough for him to reduce tariffs on the longtime US ally.
“Maybe not, don’t forget — we help keep Israel alive,” Mr Trump said, adding that the US gives Israel “billions of dollars a year” in defense assistance. Minutes later, he said “we do take care of our friends”.
Asked directly if it would be possible for countries to reduce their tariffs below the flat 10 per cent floor, Mr Trump sidestepped the question while emphasising what he sees as the benefits of the levies.
“Tariffs will make this country very rich,” he said.
Mr Trump signalled that some nations would face significant challenges in getting the tariffs removed. He reiterated his threat to impose “additional” 50 per cent tariffs on China if Beijing does not withdraw a 34 per cent retaliatory duty on US goods. After earlier in the day speaking with Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba to open trade talks, Mr Trump on Monday railed against the country’s barriers on US agricultural products.
Mr 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.
What is behind Ireland’s tourism slowdown?
Mr 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 hopeful that an agreement between those countries could provide a framework for other nations. Mr Netanyahu expressed optimism that Israel could “serve as a model for many countries” on how to approach the trade dispute.
Mr Trump has set a high bar for any agreements, saying last week that he was open to tariff cuts in return for “phenomenal” offers and on Sunday claiming that other countries would need to eliminate bilateral trade deficits and non-tariff barriers.
Asked about an offer from the EU that would see them bring tariffs on cars and industrial goods down to zero, Mr Trump said that concession would not be enough and reiterated his concern about the US deficit with the trading bloc.
“The EU has been very tough over the years. It was, I always say it was formed to really do damage to the United States in trade. That’s the reason it was formed,” he said. “They formed together to create a little bit of a monopoly situation to create a unified force against the United States for trade.”
The meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Netanyahu capped a tumultuous day that saw US stocks swing wildly over a swirl of headlines related to US trade policies, wiping out a 4 per cent plunge to rise more than 3 per cent before turning negative again. The tumult was made worse by an erroneous report about Mr Trump’s willingness to consider a tariff pause, which the White House denied. -Bloomberg, Reuters
