Trump is willing to lower tariffs if he is offered something ‘phenomenal’

Tariffs are negotiable. The process could be long and arduous, and Donald Trump will demand “phenomenal” concessions, but the U.S. president made it clear Thursday that the tariffs he displayed on a sign Wednesday are not set in stone. Trump believes that declaring a trade war gives him leverage and that now other countries will offer concessions. “Tariffs give us great power to negotiate,” he said Thursday aboard Air Force One en route to Miami, Florida, where he begins a long weekend.

On Wednesday, Trump issued an executive order approving a universal minimum tariff of 10% for all countries with high surcharges on those with whom the U.S. has a significant trade deficit, including a 20% tariff on the European Union. The 10% tariff will take effect this Saturday, while what he has called “reciprocal tariffs” — though they are not at all — will begin to be implemented on Wednesday, April 9. Several countries are now attempting to negotiate within this new environment, one that no longer seems to be governed by rules, but rather by deals.

“Every country has called us. That’s the beauty of what we do, we put ourselves in the driver’s seat,” Trump told reporters aboard the presidential plane. “If we would have asked these countries to do us a favor, they would have said no. Now they’ll do anything for us.”

When asked if he was willing to make deals with other countries, Trump replied: “Well, it depends. If somebody said that we’re going to give you something that’s so phenomenal, as long as they’re giving us something that’s good. TikTok is an example. We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something about the tariffs,‘” the president continued, adding that he was only using TikTok as an example, not that such talks were taking place.

“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate,” Trump added. “Always have, I’ve used them very well in the first administration, as you saw, but now we’re taking it to a whole new level.”

The Commerce Department has tried to convey the message that tariffs are non-negotiable, but the president’s habit of swiftly implementing and retracting tariffs suggests he’s open to adjusting his stance if he achieves a favorable outcome.

Trump sought to downplay the significant drop in the U.S. stock market on Thursday, in which companies lost $3.1 trillion in market value — a figure equivalent to two and a half years of trade deficits. The decline in stock prices undermines the wealth effect and could hinder an economy that was once growing strongly and considered the envy of the world. However, Trump compared the economy to a patient in a coma to justify the stock market’s reaction.

“It’s what you’d expect. The patient was very sick. The economy was in a lot of trouble. He was a sick patient. He had surgery. It’s going to be a booming economy. It’s going to be incredible. We’re going to have trillions coming in,” the 78-year-old president said of the market reaction. “The operation is over. And now we let it settle in.”

“I think our markets are going to boom. Got to give it a chance. Got to give it a little bit of time,” Trump said, presenting the fall in energy prices and 10-year yields — symptoms of fears of an economic recession — as a positive sign. “One thing I like is interest rates going down, like groceries going down,” he said. “I like eggs going down, if you look at it. And very importantly, the gasoline prices are going down.”

The president was asked if he had a message for U.S. companies worried about the economic impact of his tariffs: “I think it’s all going to work out. Remember there are no tariffs if you build your plant or make your product in the U.S. So there’s going to be a transition period,” he said, before adding: We’re going to become so rich you’re not going to know where to spend all that money.”

In fact, Trump plans to redouble his protectionist policies, with tariffs on microprocessors and pharmaceuticals. “The chips are starting very soon. The pharma is going to start coming in, I think, at a level that we haven’t really seen before. We are looking at pharma right now. Pharmaceuticals. It’s a separate category. We’ll be announcing that sometime in the near future. It’s under review right now,” he said.

“Elon’s got to leave”

The president also spoke about his ally, Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, whose gradual withdrawal from government duties has generated much discussion this week, particularly after his candidate’s resounding defeat in a judicial election in Wisconsin. Trump described Musk as “fantastic” and “a patriot.”

“I like smart people, and he’s a smart person,” Trump said. “He’s going to stay a certain period of time and then he’s going to get back to his businesses full-time. But he’s doing a fantastic job.”

When asked if he would appoint Musk to another position, Trump replied: “I would. I think Elon’s great. But he also had a number of companies to run. But there’s a point at which time Elon’s got to leave.” Asked when, he said: “I would think a few months. I want Elon to stay as long as possible.”

The first gold card

Trump also showed reporters the design of a new card, a kind of visa for billionaires. “For $5 million, this could be yours,” Trump told reporters. “That was the first of the cards. And you know what that card is? The gold card. It’s the gold card. The Trump card.”

In February, the president announced plans to introduce a gold card, similar to the green card that grants legal residency. However, his golden visa will cost around $5 million. In addition to granting residency, it will open the door to U.S. citizenship. This program is set to replace the current EB-5 visa program for foreign investors, which is more similar to the golden visa programs offered by other countries.

The card he showed bore the words “TRUMP CARD” in large letters. It was unclear whether this will be the design for all cards. “I’m the first buyer,” Trump said, although the president, of course, doesn’t need a residency permit.

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