-
Trump sends the markets rising with talk of China deal
-
PODCAST: For the news and gossip from White House insiders – Listen to Welcome to MAGAland here.
It represented a remarkable shift in tone for a president who has consistently leveled accusations at others.
China
of ‘ripping off’ the United States.
‘No, no, we’re going to be very nice. They’re going to be very nice, and we’ll see what happens,’ Trump told reporters at the
White House
Tuesday, suggesting that there was potential to lower the temperature in his trade war with China and substantially bring down tariffs he had imposed this month.
‘We’re going to live together very happily and ideally work together,’ Trump said. His new public approach came hours after the president met with three CEOs whose retail companies are highly dependent on imports.
They warned Monday that Trump’s spate of tariffs had the potential to once again further disrupt supply chains – leading to a spike in
inflation
Just as Trump was advocating for a decrease in fuel and household products costs.
An administration official stated, “The major retail chain CEOs directly informed him [Trump] that prices are currently stable but will increase soon. This didn’t pertain to food items; however, they also warned that store shelves would become bare.”
Axios
.
Present at the meeting with Trump were
Walmart
CEO Doug McMillon, Target’s CEO Brian Cornell, and Home Depot’s CEO Ted Decker.
Each of these firms offers affordable goods for consumers, keeping costs low partly due to imports — a global trading framework that Trump aims to challenge.
Each of these firms also contributed substantial amounts to Trump’s inauguration, held several months before their gathering took place. Target was among them with a contribution of $1 million towards the event.
The firms expressed enthusiasm over a ‘fruitful meeting’ following the event but provided minimal additional information.
The National Retail Federation has been warning of some of the risks imposed by tariffs.
‘Small and medium-sized businesses will be disproportionately affected by the tariffs, with many saying they will have to raise prices or shut down,’ the association says on its website.
‘Unable to absorb the cost of increased tariffs, small business retailers would be forced to pass those additional costs along to their customers in the form of higher prices.’
The group’s Global Port Tracker found last week that imports at the nation’s major ports was expected to ‘drop dramatically’ beginning next month due to the sweeping tariffs.
Walmart store data from 2023
indicated 60 percent of its shipments came from China as it moved to boost imports from India.
Trump’s apparent turnaround came after markets tanked Monday amid both the trade war and his repeated comments railing against Fed chair Jerome Powell – including calling him a ‘major loser.’
This raised concerns on Wall Street regarding Trump.
might fire Powell,
Regardless of the discussions about his authority to act this way.
The situation changed course following remarks from Trump’s Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, who expressed optimism about reaching an agreement with China that could potentially de-escalate the trade conflict.
The markets rose on Wednesday as President Trump adopted a more conciliatory tone, though he continued to express frustration over nations ‘taking advantage of’ the United States.
“It will be fair,” Trump stated regarding a possible agreement with China.
“Everyone wants to join us in this endeavor. They understand that they can no longer continue as before, yet they will still thrive, and we’ll end up with a nation you can take pride in,” Trump stated.
Yesterday, Trump stated that the present tariff rate is “quite high but will not remain so. Instead, it will decrease significantly. However, it won’t go down completely,” he added.
This indicated that the trade war would not be resolved anytime soon—and that negotiations would persist. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated on Wednesday that 18 nations had presented proposals during the trade discussions. This figure matched what she reported on Tuesday, without any agreements having been announced yet.
Read more
