‘Sometimes you have to take medicine….’: Trump stands firm on tariffs, warns global markets to ‘hang tough’
President Donald Trump said Sunday he would not retreat from his sweeping tariffs on imports from most of the world unless countries agree to balance their trade with the United States. Speaking aboard Air Force One, Trump dug in on his plans to implement the new taxes—moves that have rattled financial markets, raised fears of a potential recession, and disrupted the global trading system, Associated Press (AP) reported.
While Trump insisted he did not want to see markets fall, he also shrugged off the massive sell-offs, stating, “Sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something.” His remarks came amid mounting concerns that Monday would bring continued sharp declines in global financial markets, despite efforts by Trump’s aides to calm the situation by noting that over 50 countries had reached out to discuss possible negotiations.
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World leaders keen to negotiate, but Trump demands fair trade
“I spoke to a lot of leaders — European, Asian, from all over the world,” Trump said. “They’re dying to make a deal. And I said, we’re not going to have deficits with your country. We’re going to have surpluses, or at worst, break even. To me, a deficit is a loss.”
The new tariffs are scheduled to be collected starting Wednesday, signalling a new era of economic uncertainty with no clear resolution in sight. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent emphasised that unfair trade practices are not “the kind of thing you can negotiate away in days or weeks,” adding that the US must gauge whether the countries’ offers are credible.
Markets brace for turbulence as White House remains defiant
From his Florida golf retreat, Trump posted online, “WE WILL WIN. HANG TOUGH. It won’t be easy.” Meanwhile, his Cabinet members and economic advisers fanned out across media appearances to defend the tariffs and minimise fears of a global downturn.
“There doesn’t have to be a recession. Who knows how the market will react in a day, in a week?” Bessent said. “We are focused on building the long-term economic fundamentals for prosperity.” US stock futures dropped on Sunday evening as the tariffs continued to roil the markets. Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 futures fell nearly 4 per cent, while Nasdaq futures were down nearly 5 per cent. Even the price of bitcoin, which held relatively stable last week, fell nearly 6 per cent on Sunday.
(With inputs from AP)
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