More than 50 countries have appealed to the administration of the White House with a proposal to start trade negotiations. This happened shortly after US President Donald Trump announced the introduction of mutual tariffs. This was stated by Kevin Hassett, director of the US National Economic Council. informs Reuters.
«The fact is that countries are getting angry and retaliating — and, by the way, they’re negotiating. I got a report from (the U.S. Trade Representative — ed.) last night that says more than 50 countries have approached the president with an offer to start negotiations.», — noted Hassett.
He supported the tariffs, saying they would not necessarily increase costs for American consumers. Hassett also denied suggestions that the tariffs are part of Trump’s strategy to destabilize financial markets in order to pressure the US Federal Reserve and stimulate interest rate cuts. He emphasized that there will be no pressure on the Fed. At the same time, Trump previously said in a video message that tariffs can help achieve a rate cut by the Fed.
At the same time, former Finance Minister Lawrence Summers expressed the opposite position:
«This is the biggest self-inflicted damage to our economy in history. We’re driving up inflation because the tariffs are driving up prices. It’s reducing people’s purchasing power and therefore jobs. The markets have already felt it. They think the value of companies has dropped by $5 trillion. And that’s just the business losses. If you add in the consumer losses, the total could be about $30 trillion.»
It will be recalled that on April 2, US President Donald Trump announced tariffs on almost all countries trading with the United States. For some countries, a 10% duty has been established, which came into effect on April 5. A higher rate will be applied to about 60 states, which will take effect on April 9.
