Trump updates: President claims tariffs ‘great’ for Republicans as trade war roils Asian markets
Beijing says it will ‘fight to the end’ as president’s 104% China tariffs take effect
Stock markets in Asia fell at the opening on Wednesday, continuing the drop seen earlier on Wall Street, amid fears over Donald Trump’s 104% tariff on imports from China. In Tokyo, the Nikkei fell 3.5% on the opening, and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong was down 4%.
Speaking in Washington on Tuesday night, the president claimed the massive import taxes he is imposing on Americans will help usher in victory for his Republican Party in next year’s midterm elections.
During 90 minutes of meandering remarks before GOP lawmakers and deep-pocketed donors at the National Republican Congressional Committee’s annual fundraising gala, Trump said the stage is now “set for a monumental victory for the Republicans in the midterms,” which most mainstream economists and business experts say will supercharge inflation and threaten America’s status as the world’s leading economy with a grievous self-inflicted wound.
“I know what the hell I'm doing. I know what I'm doing, and you know what I'm doing too,” he said.
The president also warned of impending tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals in an effort to bully companies into moving production to the U.S.
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Republicans look for an exit ramp on tariffs
China hits back at JD Vance after he calls workers there ‘peasants’ amid tariff standoff
Amid Trump tariffs standoff, China hits back at JD Vance after he calls workers there ‘peasants’
Gustaf Kilander reports:
China has hit back against Vice President JD Vance after he referred to the nation’s population as “Chinese peasants.”
Vance appeared on Fox News last week, where he defended the Trump administration’s widespread new tariffs by asking what the “globalist economy” has done for the U.S. The vice president said the U.S. was “incurring a huge amount of debt to buy things that other countries make.”
He added: “We borrow money from Chinese peasants to buy the things those Chinese peasants manufacture.”
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China hits back at JD Vance after he calls workers there ‘peasants’
ICYMI: Trump’s words move markets. But his roundabout ramblings mean traders don’t know which way to go.
Richard Hall writes:
A president’s words can move markets. But when a president speaks in two-minute-long sentences without punctuation and is prone to long tangents, it can be difficult for the markets to know which way to go.
After days of turmoil in the world’s largest economy (for now), Donald Trump was given the opportunity on Monday to calm investors’ fears by explaining his sweeping global tariffs to an anxious nation.
The markets waited with bated breath as the press gathered in the Oval Office. For those looking for clarity, or a reprieve, this was not it.
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Trump proves that a president’s word salads can move the markets
Fox Business mocks Peter Navarro’s ‘reciprocal trade-girl math’
While “first buddy” Elon Musk continues to assail Donald Trump’s trade czar over the tariffs that have plunged the global economy into chaos, some of the president’s media allies at Fox have also ridiculed Peter Navarro while urging Trump to bench his top trade adviser.
Even before Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs that have erased trillions of dollars of wealth from the stock market and prompted economists to sound the alarm of a coming recession, Navarro has sparked criticism and mockery over his defense of the sweeping import taxes.
Justin Baragona has the story.
Fox Business mocks Peter Navarro’s ‘reciprocal trade-girl math,’ wants him sidelined
Republicans look for an exit ramp on tariffs
Eric Garcia reports from Washington, D.C.
American consumers and the stock market are not the only groups seeking relief from President Donald Trump’s whipsaw trade actions; Senate Republicans also hope to find an exit off the Trump tariff train.
Trump appears uninterested in stopping the tariff steamroller. At midnight, the administration is set to levy an additional 50 percent tariff on China if China does not retract its 34 percent retaliatory tariff. That would boost the tariffs on Chinese goods to an extraordinary 104 percent.
During a hearing at the Senate Finance Committee with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina warned that ultimately one person has to own the blame if projects go awry as he referenced his time in management consulting.
So “whose throat do I get to choke if this proves to be wrong?” Tillis asked Greer.
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Republicans look for an exit ramp on tariffs
White House advising foreign trade negotiators to ‘think creatively’, report says
CNN reports that countries around the world are being advised by U.S. diplomats and sources close to the White House that as they respond to the tariffs imposed by Donald Trump, they should “think creatively, beyond the scope of trade.
Per the network:
Their message to foreign counterparts seems simple: If they have a unique card to play, they should.
Ideas being discussed run the gamut, and include possible action on securing the freedom of Americans wrongfully detained abroad, committing to working with US artificial intelligence companies, buying more US energy or combatting global drug trafficking, according to five people familiar with the brainstorming sessions.
After days of mixed signals over how willing the president would be to negotiate tariff relief, Tuesday’s message was far clearer: Trump is ready for opening bids.
The administration has reportedly been inundated with calls from foreign governments as well as CEOs of large multinational corporations who have been arguing to Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Vice President JD Vance, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that the tariff policy will harm the global economy and credibility of American business and government.
Trump says tariff situation ‘is great’ for midterms as markets continue to tumble
Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, D.C.:
As stock markets around the world continue to drop amid fears over his attempt to blow up the world’s trade system, Donald Trump says the massive import taxes he is imposing on Americans will bring about a massive victory for his Republican Party in next year’s midterm elections.
Speaking to a group of GOP officeholders and deep-pocketed Republican donors at the National Republican Congressional Committee’s annual fundraising gala in Washington, Trump said the stage is now “set for a monumental victory for the Republicans in the midterms” on account of his policies, which most mainstream economists and business experts say will supercharge inflation and threaten America’s status as the world’s leading economy with a grievous self-inflicted wound.
“I really think we’re helped a lot by the tariffs situation. It’s great,” he said.
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Trump says tariff situation ‘is great’ for midterms as markets continue to tumble
Rand Paul mocks Trump’s odd view of trade
Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul on Tuesday mocked President Donald Trump’s unusual perspectives on international trade, deficits and tariffs, calling them “backwards and upside down.”
It’s “based on a fallacy," Paul told CNBC in an interview from the Capitol.
Mary Papenfuss reports.
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