Trump’s tariffs haven’t been so popular with the stock market
The president has said people will ‘realize’ that tariffs are ‘beautiful’ for the country, despite the US stock market dropping again.
Donald Trump is ferociously defending his ‘reciprocal tariffs’ for countries around the world after announcing the plan on ‘Liberation Day’ (April 2), which caused immediate shockwaves across the globe.
The president said the levies on foreign goods would boost domestic industries, create more jobs and heal the US economy.
This includes hiking taxes by 20 percent on goods from the European Union, 54 percent on goods from China and 10 percent on UK imports, plus various other taxes on as many as 60 countries.
The POTUS is defending his tariffs plan (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
However, the stock market rapidly plummeted, with the S&P 500 losing $2 trillion in market capitalisation.
Economists have also warned the plans could see Americans footing the bill, from their groceries to cars and even their retirement plans. Not to mention the fact tariff hikes haven’t exactly gone down well for the US historically.
Yet while stock futures dropped again on Sunday (April 6) night, the POTUS is doubling down on the initiative, saying the tariffs are a ‘beautiful thing to behold’ for the future of the US.
“We have massive Financial Deficits with China, the European Union, and many others,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social. “The only way this problem can be cured is with TARIFFS, which are now bringing Tens of Billions of Dollars into the U.S.A.
“They are already in effect, and a beautiful thing to behold.”
He continued to make a dig at his predecessor, Joe Biden, writing: “The Surplus with these Countries has grown during the “Presidency” of Sleepy Joe Biden. We are going to reverse it, and reverse it QUICKLY.
“Some day people will realize that Tariffs, for the United States of America, are a very beautiful thing!”
Trump said the tariffs would ‘Make America Wealthy Again’ (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Trump also said the leaders of several countries around the world have been calling him to make a deal with the US, reports New York Post.
“I spoke to a lot of leaders — European, Asian, from all over the world. They’re dying to make a deal,” he said. “But I said we’re not gonna have deficits with your country. We’re not gonna do that because to me a deficit is a loss. We’re gonna have surpluses or we’re at worst gonna be breaking even.”
Yet stock futures took another tumble last night, with Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 2.1 percent and the S&P 500 down of around 2.5 percent.
Nasdaq also fell by around 3.1 percent and shares across Asia fell harshly, with Tokyo’s 225 index losing about 8 percent when the market opened and coming down 6 percent by midday, as per the news outlet.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng also fell 9.4 percent and the Shanghai Composite index suffered a 6.2 percent loss.
The POTUS said he doesn’t want to see stocks fall, but stated ‘sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something’.
“We have been treated so badly by other countries because we had stupid leadership that allowed this to happen,” he added. “They took our business, they took our money, they took our jobs.”
