April 6, 2025. Washington.
President Trump defended his wide-scale tariffs. He called them a “beautiful thing to behold.” He said they will eventually be supported, even though stock dropped Sunday night.
“The tariffs are already in effect,” Trump said. “The surplus with these countries has grown under Sleepy Joe Biden’s presidency.”
Trump said he would reverse the situation quickly. “One day, people will realize tariffs are great for the US,” he added.
On Air Force One, Trump told reporters that many leaders are ready to make a deal with the US. “I’ve spoken to leaders from Europe and Asia. They want a deal,” he said.
“But we won’t have deficits with these countries. A deficit is a loss,” Trump explained. “We’ll have surpluses or break even.”
Despite Trump’s optimism, investors were not convinced. Stock futures fell on Sunday evening. The Dow Jones was down 2.1%. The S&P 500 dropped 2.5%. The Nasdaq lost almost 3.1%.
Asian shares also fell. Tokyo’s 225 index dropped 8% at the open and 6% by midday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 9.4%. The Shanghai Composite index lost 6.2%.
Trump said he doesn’t want stock prices to drop. But sometimes, he said, “you have to take medicine to fix something.”
“We were treated badly by other countries,” Trump added. “We had stupid leadership that let this happen. They took our business, our money, and our jobs.”
Trump claimed billions of dollars are now coming into the US because of the tariffs.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said 50 countries have reached out about the tariffs. However, the US would not delay any measures.
Trump introduced a 10% tariff on imported goods that took effect on Saturday. He also announced harsher “reciprocal” tariffs that start Wednesday.