Will Make This Country Very Rich’: Donald Trump Rules Out Tariff Pause Amid Global Market Jitters

Will Make This Country Very Rich: US President Donald Trump has ruled out a pause in his controversial tariff plan, even as global markets reeled from escalating trade tensions. “We’re not looking at that,” Trump said, when asked if he was considering a pause on implementing further tariffs.

The US president was speaking during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office on Monday.

Tariffs ‘very important’

A 10 per cent tariff on imports from all countries is already in effect and targeted reciprocal tariffs are set to roll out starting Wednesday.

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“We’re not looking at that,” Trump said during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who became the first foreign leader to visit the White House after the US president announced his ambitious tariffs.

The Republican said tariffs, which would generally remain, were a “very important” part of his economic agenda and signalled readiness to secure a “fair deal and good deals with every country.”

“There can be permanent tariffs and there can also be negotiations because there are things that we need beyond tariffs,” Trump added.

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The US president sidestepped questions on whether it would be possible for countries to reduce their tariffs below the flat 10% baseline and said, “tariffs will make this country very rich.”

Trump reaffirmed his concern about the US bilateral trade deficit while outlining his strategy towards the European Union (EU), citing the bloc's offer to eliminate tariffs on automobiles and industrial goods.

“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 said.

“We have a deficit with the European Union of $350 billion — it’s going to disappear fast,” Trump added.

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