President Donald Trump is using tariffs to fundamentally change the face of U.S. trade on a global scale, and as a result, has generated mountains of debate on whether or not he should use such tactics.
According to Townhall, Trump recently hinted that he's doubling down on his use of tariffs, hinting on the last leg of his Middle East trip that he'll consider raising tariffs to negotiate better deals.
Trump reportedly said that trade negotiations with certain countries aren't moving as fast as he would like, so he's willing to dial up the heat to expedite the process.
The president said he'd give some countries a few more weeks to come to the negotiation table to hammer out deals that would be mutually beneficial.
Reports indicated that Trump held nothing back in indicating where he's at on more tariffs.
"At the conclusion of his Middle East trip Friday, Trump acknowledged that trade negotiations are progressing too slowly to accommodate every country that wants to strike a new trade deal with the United States," the report noted.
It added, "So Trump said he’d give other countries a few more weeks, and then Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick would simply tell America’s trading partners what their new tariffs are."
Trump expolained it himself at a roundtable discussion in Abu Dhabi last week.
"We have, at the same time, 150 countries that want to make a deal, but you’re not able to see that many countries,” Trump said during the discussion.
“So at a certain point, over the next two to three weeks, I think Scott and Howard will be sending letters out, essentially telling people – we’ll be very fair – but we’ll be telling people what they’ll be paying to do business in the United States."
Though some of the deals aren't moving as fast as Trump would like, over 100 countries have come to the negotiating table.
Trump called for a reprieve of 90 days on his tariff announcement.
Townhall noted:
Trump officials have said around 100 countries have offered to negotiate deals, setting a tremendously difficult task before US trade negotiators to race against the clock to make new commitments.
Only time will tell if more countries play ball.
