On Monday, Donald Trump said he had no plans to halt his tariff strategy despite it shaking global markets, sparking concerns about a worldwide recession, and pushing several countries to seek negotiations. However, he suggested he might be willing to engage in talks as long as they support his domestic economic goals. His remarks followed a White House denial of reports claiming the administration was assuming about a 90-day pause on its reciprocal tariff policy for all countries except China. The report first helped financial markets bounce back by over 3 per cent after a 4 per cent drop on Monday. However, they slipped back into negative territory after the administration clarified.

A 10 per cent tariff on imports from all countries is already in place, and additional targeted tariffs are expected to be implemented starting Wednesday.

During a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the first foreign leader to visit the White House after the US president announced his bold tariff plans, Trump said, “We’re not looking at that,” when he asked about rolling them back.

He emphasised that tariffs would stay in place, calling them a “very important” element of his economic strategy. Trump was also willing to pursue a “fair deal and good deals with every country.” He said, “There can be permanent tariffs, and there can also be negotiations because there are things that we need beyond tariffs,” suggesting that while tariffs are key, discussions on other trade elements were also on the table. When asked whether countries could lower tariffs below the standard 10% rate, Trump avoided giving a direct answer and instead declared, “tariffs will make this country very rich.”

While outlining his stance on the European Union (EU), Trump mentioned the bloc’s proposal to eliminate tariffs on cars and industrial goods. He also repeated his concern about the United States trade deficit in its dealings with the EU.

“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. They formed together to create a little bit of a monopoly situation to create a unified force against the United States for trade,” Trump spoke. He further said, “We have a deficit with the European Union of $350 billion — it’s going to disappear fast”.