Trump shows no signs of backing off tariffs

The White House showed no signs Monday of backing off its implementation of sweeping tariffs on dozens of other nations, even as its approach rattled financial markets and raised the specter of an economic slowdown.

President Trump was adamant that the aggressive tariffs, which are set to go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, were a necessary tool to rebalance trade and reorient the U.S. economy after years of being taken advantage of.

He also announced he would impose a new 50 percent tariff on imports from China in response to that country’s announcement last week of tariffs on the U.S.

The latest announcement would essentially put U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports at 104 percent, a dramatic escalation of a potential trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

The president also warned that he would cut off negotiations with China about tariffs moving forward if it did not back off its retaliatory tariffs.

“We’re going to have one shot at this. And no other president’s going to do this, what I’m doing. And I’ll tell you what, it’s an honor to do it, because we have been just destroyed,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office during a joint appearance with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose country is also getting hit with Trump tariffs.

“We have an opportunity to change the fabric of our country,” Trump added. “We have an opportunity to reset the table on trade.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed Monday with a loss of 349 points, falling 0.9 percent on the day after falling more than 1,600 points below its Friday close earlier in the day. In total, the Dow has dropped more than 4,000 points since the announcement of Trump’s reciprocal tariffs and 9.35 percent over the last five days.

The S&P 500 index closed with a loss of 0.2 percent, while the Nasdaq composite squeaked out a 0.1 percent gain.

Stocks opened Monday with a steep plunge after Trump and top administration officials spent the weekend defending the president’s tariffs and downplaying the potential economic costs.

Less than an hour after the opening bell, the market shot into positive territory for the first time in days amid multiple — but erroneous — reports that Trump was considering a 90-day tariff pause. 

Stocks fell again shortly after the White House dismissed the pause as “fake news” and media outlets behind the original reports backtracked.

But even the false report of relief appeared to snap the market out of its hysteria as stocks bounced back and forth until the closing bell.

Trump, however, said he was not considering any kind of pause while again shrugging off the market reaction.

“We’re not looking at that,” Trump said later when asked if he was looking at a pause. “We have many, many countries that are coming to negotiate deals with us. And they’re going to be fair deals. And in certain cases they’re going to be paying substantial tariffs.”

At the same time, Trump and some members of his administration sent mixed signals about whether countries could negotiate down their tariffs and how they could do so.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Monday afternoon that he would begin negotiations with his Japanese counterpart “regarding tariffs, non-tariff trade barriers, currency issues, and government subsidies.”

Shortly before Bessent’s announcement, the Financial Times published an op-ed from Trump’s senior trade adviser, Peter Navarro, in which Navarro wrote of the tariffs: “This is not a negotiation. For the U.S., it is a national emergency triggered by trade deficits caused by a rigged system.”

The official White House account on X shared a link to Navarro's op-ed, but later deleted its post.

Sources close to the White House told The Hill that it will ultimately be up to Trump whether he wants to negotiate with other countries over tariffs. And Trump himself has signaled he is open to it and argued the tariffs give him significant leverage.

But even the president has at times been unclear about what he is seeking from other countries. He has called for other nations to drop their trade barriers and lower their tariff rates, while on Sunday he told reporters he would not make a deal with China unless the U.S. resolved its trade deficit with Beijing, something that would take years to accomplish.

“They can both be true. There can be permanent tariffs and there can also be negotiations, because there are things we need beyond tariffs,” Trump said Monday.

Netanyahu said following a meeting with Trump at the White House that Israel intends to “eliminate the trade deficit with the United States” and “eliminate trade barriers.”

“I think Israel can serve as a model for many countries who ought to do the same,” Netanyahu said.

Asked if he planned to reduce the 17 percent tariff on Israel that was announced last week as a result, Trump said, “Maybe not.”

Other countries, such as Vietnam and those in the European Union, have indicated a willingness to negotiate as well, but it’s unclear if the Trump administration will take them up on it.

Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) urged Trump to engage with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s offer to negotiate on “zero-for-zero tariffs for industrial goods." 

“At some point, you have to take YES for an answer,” Johnson posted on social platform X.

Trump in the Oval Office said the European Union’s offer was not sufficient.

In a further sign of GOP unease with Trump’s approach, seven Republican senators, including Sens. Chuck Grassley (Iowa) and Mitch McConnell (Ky.), have signed on to a bipartisan bill that would require Congress to approve Trump’s steep tariffs on trading partners.

The White House has said Trump would veto the bill if it reached his desk.

Economic leaders have repeatedly expressed wariness about Trump’s approach and what it may mean for the larger economy.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon wrote in a letter to shareholders Monday morning that the administration’s tariffs “will likely increase inflation and are causing many to consider a greater probability of a recession.”

Callie Cox, chief market strategist at Ritholtz Wealth, wrote in a Monday analysis published before the market closed that businesses “aren’t exactly enthusiastic about hiring new people or launching bold revenue-generating projects when their stock is in freefall.”

“This isn’t a crisis of confidence. At least not yet. The worst-case scenario now is if investors lose confidence in the U.S.’ ability to pay back its debts or support deep and transparent stock markets,” Cox wrote.

This story was updated at 5:18 p.m.