U.S. President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he boards Air Force One before departing from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, on April 11.MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images
Donald Trump is facing mounting pressure both at home and abroad over his global trade war, with Wall Street, China and the European Union all warning of escalating economic pain because of the White House’s punishing tariffs.
But the U.S. President is vowing to stay the course and get countries around the world to agree to new trade deals, even as it remained unclear what form such deals would take and the administration acknowledged it has had no talks with Beijing.
“We are doing really well on our TARIFF POLICY. Very exciting for America, and the World!!! It is moving along quickly,” Mr. Trump wrote Friday on his Truth Social platform.
The President abruptly reversed a swath of his tariffs on Wednesday after a stock market rout, saying he would give countries 90 days to negotiate new trade arrangements with the U.S.
He increased tariffs on China, however, to 145 per cent and left in place 10-per-cent tariffs on most other countries, along with 25 per cent on all imports of cars, steel and aluminum.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, head of the U.S.’s largest bank, wrote in a filing Friday that the country’s “economy is facing considerable turbulence,” citing tariffs, inflation and government deficits.
On a call with reporters, he said that estimates for corporate earnings will likely continue to drop. “Companies, some have taken away their guidance,” he said, noting analysts have already reduced earnings estimates for the S&P 500 by 5 per cent. “I think you’ll see that come down some more.”
The yield on 10-year U.S. government bonds continued to rise on Friday, another sign of market volatility and the possibility Americans will face higher borrowing costs. Bond sell-offs earlier in the week appeared to be the proximate cause of Mr. Trump’s abrupt decision to dial back the tariffs.
China vows to ‘fight to the end,’ calls Donald Trump’s bluff on tariffs
In Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping boosted his country’s retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products to 125 per cent on Friday. He used a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to invite the European Union to join China in fighting “unilateral bullying,” without naming Mr. Trump.
“No matter how the external environment changes, China will strengthen its confidence, maintain determination and focus on doing its own thing,” he said.
Andrew Collier, an expert in Chinese economic policy, said the sheer financial pain would give both Washington and Beijing incentive to start talking: Tariffs are set to push down China’s GDP while driving up consumer prices in the U.S.
“Both Trump and Xi Jinping have their backs up and national pride is likely to slow the pace of negotiations. However, both sides are going to face increasing pressure,” Mr. Collier, a senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, told The Globe and Mail by e-mail.
He said back-channel talks and small concessions were likely in the near-term, but it would take some time for more serious discussions to get under way.
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said the EU was willing to work on a deal with Mr. Trump. But she warned Brussels was considering retaliating by expanding the trade war to services, including with a tax on U.S. tech companies.
“We are developing retaliatory measures,” she said in an interview with the Financial Times. “An example is you could put a levy on the advertising revenues of digital services.” Such a move would hit marquee U.S. tech platforms such as Google and Facebook.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Fox News on Friday that he has “a full dance card” of talks with his international counterparts, including from Israel and Taiwan. He later acknowledged to reporters at the White House that there have been no discussions with China.
The Trump administration has not said what it hopes such trade deals will look like or what specifically it is seeking from other countries. Full-scale trade agreements typically take years to negotiate. Mr. Trump has also shown himself willing to impose tariffs even on countries with which the U.S. already has free-trade agreements.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said other countries have “ripped off” U.S. citizens and companies, and Mr. Trump would plough ahead in the trade war. “The President made it very clear: When the United States is punched, he will punch back harder.”
In addition to the possibility of even higher tariffs on China, Mr. Trump has also promised new levies specifically targeting pharmaceuticals.
U.S. consumer confidence dropped 11 per cent this month, the University of Michigan said on Friday, reaching its second-lowest point since 1952. The lowest was in June, 2022, amid soaring inflation. Those higher prices were credited with helping Mr. Trump return to office by blaming them on the policies of the incumbent Democratic administration.
Canada and Mexico are not subject to Mr. Trump’s 10-per-cent universal tariff but do face the 25-per-cent levies on steel, aluminum and autos. All other goods sold under the United States-Mexico-Canada free-trade agreement remain tariff-free. Those sold outside of it are subject to 25-per-cent tariffs, with the exception of oil and potash at 10 per cent.
With reports from Janice Dickson in Washington and James Griffiths in Hong Kong