Trump threatens to put higher tariff rate back if countries don’t strike deals
President Trump on Thursday threatened to reverse course on a 90-day pause on country-specific tariffs if countries don't strike a deal with his administration before then.
“If we can’t make the deal that we want to make or we have to make or that’s, you know, good for both parties — it's got to be good for both parties — then we go back to where we were,” Trump said during an on-camera meeting with his full Cabinet.
The president said “it’s very close” when questioned on where his administration is on striking a deal with the first foreign nation on tariffs, not elaborating on which country is the closest.
He also didn’t rule out extending the 90-day pause that was implemented Wednesday.
“We’ll have to see what happens at the time,” Trump said.
The president announced a 90-day pause on higher tariffs for trading partners, bringing the tariff rate for foreign countries back to 10 percent during that time. The only exception was China, which is in an escalating trade war with the U.S. after retaliation.
When asked about the hefty tariffs on China, which the White House says is now at a 145 percent rate, Trump expressed optimism that a deal could be sorted out but would not reveal what his next moves were.
“We would love to be able to work a deal,” he said.
“They’ve ripped us off beyond anybody — how people stood for it sitting in my position is not even believable … but they did and all we’re doing is putting it back in shape. We’re resetting the table. And I'm sure that we’ll be able to get along very well,” the president added, noting he has respect for Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The president announced a 125 percent rate on China on Wednesday, boosting the rate after 104 percent hit the country earlier that day. A White House official said Thursday the rate is 145 percent on China because an extra 20 percent includes the sectors that the reciprocal tariffs do not cover.
Meanwhile, the European Union put retaliatory tariffs on hold for 90 days after Trump announced the pause. The 27-member trading bloc voted Wednesday to introduce countermeasures against the U.S.
Trump said negotiations with European nations will be as one group.
“We’re looking at it as one block,” he said, adding that they were smart to hold back on retaliation after seeing the trade war with China escalate.
“Look, the EU's very smart, but they really have taken advantage of the United States. They were formed for the purpose of taking advantage of the United States,” he said.
The president’s negotiating team, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, were confident about countries coming to the table during the Cabinet meeting.
About 75 countries have approached the administration to strike a deal in the week since the initial tariff announcement, which Bessent said on Wednesday was a leading factor into why the administration chose to do a pause.
Trump's initial tariffs announcement impacted 135 countries, in addition to tariff's he's imposed on Canada and Mexico.