Donald Trump Photo: AP
US President Donald Trump has said that he is not worried about the trillion-dollar drop in stock markets due to new trade duties. Speaking to journalists on board the presidential Air Force One aircraft, he called the duties “medicine” that needs to be taken to cure the ailing international trade system, Reuters reports.
Trump stressed that foreign countries will “have to pay a lot of money” for the cancellation of duties, which come into effect this week. According to him, the new conditions will affect dozens of countries that have enjoyed trade advantages with the US for years.
“I don’t want the market to go down. But sometimes you need to take medicine to fix something,” Trump explained, commenting on the losses on the exchanges, which have already reached about six trillion dollars.
Despite the financial turbulence, the president is determined that countries that want to avoid new tariffs should come to the table and agree to pay the US “on a permanent basis”. He confirmed that he has already had conversations with European and Asian leaders who are trying to convince him to reduce tariffs by at least 50%.
The international reaction has so far remained restrained, but experts warn of the risk of a new wave of trade wars that could seriously affect the global economy.
