On Sunday, President Donald Trump expressed his desire for the stock market to remain stable, but emphasized the necessity of the sweeping tariffs he introduced last week to address America’s trade deficits with other nations.
“While I don’t want to see anything decline, sometimes certain measures are required to remedy a situation,” Trump stated to reporters on Sunday night.
“We’ve experienced unfair treatment from other countries due to prior leadership that permitted this to transpire,” he added.
Last Wednesday, Trump revealed reciprocal tariffs on 185 nations, starting with a baseline rate of 10%. These tariffs influence a wide range of America’s adversaries and allies, including significant partners in Europe and Asia.
“April 2, 2025, will be commemorated as the day American industry was revitalized, the day we reclaimed America’s destiny, and the day we initiated the effort to restore America’s wealth,” Trump announced on Wednesday.
This decision triggered turmoil in the stock market. The S&P 500 has fallen nearly 14% year-to-date, while the Nasdaq Composite has dropped 19% during the same period.
Asian stock markets also opened significantly lower, with
Japan’s Nikkei 225 down 6% at 10:20 a.m. local time and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropping 8.6% at 9:35 a.m. local time.
In a post on Truth Social on Sunday, Trump remarked that he believes tariffs are the only viable solution to America’s “massive Financial Deficits with China, the European Union, and numerous others.”
“The surplus with these nations has surged during the ‘Presidency’ of Sleepy Joe Biden. We are going to turn this around, and do it SWIFTLY. Eventually, people will recognize that tariffs, for the United States, are quite advantageous!” Trump wrote.
Tariffs have been a staple of Trump’s economic strategy since his first term, when he initiated a trade war against China.
During his campaign in February, Trump mentioned he would impose tariffs exceeding 60% on China if elected, and also threatened a 200% tariff on John Deere products should the company shift manufacturing to Mexico.
“For me, the most beautiful word in the dictionary is ‘tariff,'” Trump declared at an event hosted by the Economic Club of Chicago in October.
The White House did not provide a response to a request for comment from Business Insider.
