The president discussed the economy and the impact of his recent tariffs on America’s trading partners.
President Donald Trump defended his trade policies on April 29 and sought to ease Americans’ concerns about the economy, saying that China “probably will eat those tariffs.”
Trump made the comments in an interview with ABC News anchor Terry Moran when asked if Americans can expect “hard times ahead.”
Trump said he did not believe this to be the case, stating that “great times are ahead” for the U.S. economy and that it is “all heading in the right direction.”
The interview focused significantly on concerns about the overall outlook for the U.S. economy and the impact of the administration’s tariffs, which include a 10 percent universal baseline levy on most U.S. trading partners, currently in effect.
On April 9, the administration announced a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs for all countries except China. Most goods from China are subject to a 145 percent tariff. Some Chinese imports, such as electric vehicles, face combined tariffs of up to 245 percent. This includes a 125 percent reciprocal tariff and a 20 percent tariff to address the fentanyl crisis, according to a White House fact sheet.
Moran asked the president how he would address concerns, adding that some people who voted for him have said, “I didn’t sign up for this.”
Trump said his voters “did sign up for it” and stressed that tariffs had been central to his campaign.
“I said that we’ve been abused by other countries at levels that nobody’s ever seen before,” Trump said. “We were losing $3 billion to $5 billion a day on trade. We were losing a trillion and a half to $2 trillion a year.”
Other nations’ tariffs imposed on imports from the United States were simply “not sustainable,” he said.
“They were taking advantage of us like they’ve never,” Trump stated. “I could’ve left it that way, and at some point, there would’ve been an implosion like nobody’s ever seen.”
When asked whether the tariffs on China would lead to increased prices for U.S. consumers on everything from electronics to clothing, Trump said: “You don’t know that. You don’t know whether or not China’s going to eat it. China probably will eat those tariffs.”
