Trump calls his tariffs economic 'medicine' after trillions wiped out from U.S. stock market

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Apr 06, 2025 9:44 PM EDT | Last Updated: 15 minutes ago

U.S. President Donald Trump connected Sunday said overseas governments would person to wage "a batch of money" to assistance sweeping tariffs that helium characterized arsenic "medicine," arsenic fiscal markets indicated different week of steep losses could beryllium successful store.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump indicated helium was not acrophobic astir marketplace losses that have already wiped retired astir $6 trillion US successful worth from U.S. stocks.

"I don't privation thing to spell down. But sometimes you person to instrumentality medicine to hole something," helium said.

Trump said that implicit the weekend, helium had spoken to leaders from Europe and Asia, who anticipation to person him to little tariffs arsenic precocious arsenic 50 per cent owed to instrumentality effect this week.

"They are coming to the table. They privation to talk, but there's nary speech unless they wage america a batch of wealth connected a yearly basis," he said.

Trump's tariff announcement past week jolted economies astir the world, triggering retaliatory levies from China and sparking fears of a planetary commercialized warfare and recession.

WATCH | The bizarre mode Trump's squad calculated reciprocal tariffs:

On Sunday greeting speech shows, the president's top economical advisers sought to represent the tariffs arsenic a savvy repositioning of the United States successful the planetary commercialized order.

They besides tried to minimize the economical shocks from past week's tumultuous rollout. Wall Street banal futures opened sharply little connected Sunday, successful a motion of further turbulence.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said much than 50 nations had started negotiations with the U.S. since past Wednesday's announcement.

"He's created maximum leverage for himself," Bessent said connected NBC's Meet the Press.

Neither Bessent nor the different officials named the countries oregon offered details astir the talks. But simultaneously negotiating with aggregate governments could airs a logistical situation for the Trump medication and prolong economical uncertainty.

Bessent said determination was "no reason" to expect a recession, citing stronger-than-anticipated U.S. jobs maturation past month, earlier the tariffs were announced.

JPMorgan economists present estimation the tariffs volition effect successful full-year U.S. gross home merchandise declining by 0.3 per cent, down from an earlier estimation of 1.3 per cent growth, and that the unemployment complaint volition ascent to 5.3 per cent from the existent 4.2 per cent.

The Republican president spent the play successful Florida, playing play and posting a video of his plaything to societal media connected Sunday.

Some countries question reprieve

U.S. customs agents began collecting Trump's unilateral 10 per cent tariff connected each imports from galore countries connected Saturday. Higher "reciprocal" tariff rates of 11 to 50 per cent on idiosyncratic countries are owed to instrumentality effect connected Wednesday astatine 12:01 a.m. ET. Some governments person already signalled a willingness to prosecute with the U.S. to debar the duties.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te on Sunday offered zero tariffs arsenic the ground for talks with the U.S., pledging to region commercialized barriers and saying Taiwanese companies volition rise their U.S. investments.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said helium would question a reprieve from a 17 per cent tariff connected the country's goods during a planned gathering with Trump connected Monday.

An Indian authorities authoritative told Reuters the state does not program to retaliate against a 26 per cent tariff and said talks were underway with the U.S. implicit a imaginable deal.

Markets look apt to vessel further

Tariff-stunned markets look different week of imaginable turmoil aft the worst week for U.S. stocks since the onset of the COVID-19 situation 5 years ago.

The S&P Composite 1500 Index, among the widest measures of the U.S. market, has had astir $10 trillion US wiped retired since mid-February, a important stroke to millions of Americans' status nest eggs.

WATCH | Trump defiant arsenic Dow plunges, planetary recession fears rise:

White House economical advisor Kevin Hassett denied that the tariffs were portion of a Trump strategy to clang fiscal markets arsenic a mode to unit the U.S. Federal Reserve to chopped involvement rates. He said determination would beryllium nary "political coercion" of the cardinal bank.

In a Truth Social station connected Friday, Trump shared a video that suggested his tariffs aimed to hammer the banal marketplace connected intent successful a bid to unit little involvement rates.

The societal media station fuelled planetary statement implicit whether Trump's tariffs were portion of a imperishable caller tariff authorities oregon simply a negotiating maneuver that could pb to the tariffs being eased done concessions by different countries.