More Than 50 Countries Begin Trade Talks Over President Donald Trump’s Tariff Policies - White House

More Than 50 Countries Begin Trade Talks Over President Donald Trump’s Tariff Policies - White House

Washington, April 6 – A senior economic advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump has stated that more than 50 countries have already reached out to the White House to initiate trade discussions. This news comes at a time when the Trump administration has implemented a new tariff policy that has caused global confusion.

In an appearance on ABC News’ "This Week" program, Kevin Hassett, Director of the National Economic Council, stated that the aim of Trump's tariff policy is not to pressure the U.S. Federal Reserve to lower interest rates and that these tariffs will not create any "political pressure." On Friday, Trump shared a video in which he claimed that through tariffs, he was trying to bring down the stock market to pressure the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates.

Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Basset shared on NBC News' "Meet the Press" that the decline in the stock market due to tariffs should not be a cause for concern, and he emphasized that there are no fears of an impending recession due to the tariffs.

Trump’s announcement of imposing widespread tariffs on U.S. imports has had a global economic impact. The imposition of retaliatory tariffs by China led to fears of an international trade war and recession. However, Trump’s senior officials have tried to present this tariff policy as a strategic move to restore the U.S.'s position in global trade and have attempted to depict the economic turmoil as a short-term consequence.

Hassett stated, "More than 50 countries have already sought to begin trade talks with the Trump administration," and he added, "These discussions could be beneficial for the countries involved." Additionally, Taiwan’s President, Tsai Ing-wen, has proposed imposing zero tariffs in opposition to Trump’s tariff policies, stating that Taiwanese companies would increase their investments in the United States.

Meanwhile, analysts and major investors have blamed the market downturn on Trump’s tariff policies, and many economists, along with the head of the Federal Reserve, believe that these tariffs could lead to inflation and damage economic growth.