Despite growing economic concerns, U.S. President Donald Trump signaled that worldwide tariffs are unlikely to decrease and “could go up” in the near future.
Speaking with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday, Trump sought to ease fears of a recession following a turbulent week on Wall Street. Investors have been rattled by ongoing trade uncertainty, leading to sharp market declines.
On Thursday, Trump temporarily exempted certain products from tariffs under North American trade rules. However, the move failed to calm investors. The S&P 500 posted its worst trading day of the year, the Nasdaq plunged 2.6 percent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 1.0 percent.
Addressing the stock market fallout, Trump remained unfazed. “We’re going to have a disruption, but we’re okay with that,” he said.
When asked why he had chosen to pause some tariffs, Trump claimed it was a goodwill gesture toward North American partners.
“I wanted to help Mexico and Canada to a certain extent,” he explained, adding that the decision was also intended to “help American car manufacturers.”
Trump downplayed Canada’s economic significance in the broader U.S. trade picture.
“We’re a big, big country and they do a lot of their business with us, whereas in our case, it’s much less significant,” he said. “We do very little with Canada by comparison.”
Despite his reassurances, Trump’s comments suggest that the trade battle is far from over—and that tariffs could climb even higher in the months ahead.
