President Trump on Thursday predicted his administration would make a deal on trade with China and with the European Union amid tariff disputes.
Trump hosted Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the White House, a visit that administration officials said was planned before the president imposed blanket tariffs on imports. But trade was at the forefront of the meeting.
As Meloni arrived, Trump told reporters he was “very confident” he could reach a trade deal with the EU. Asked moments later during a lunch meeting about the prospect of a deal with China, which has been hit with 145 percent tariffs on its goods, Trump also sounded a note of optimism.
“We’re going to make a deal. I think we’re going to make a very good deal with China,” Trump said. “I think you will see we’ll make a very good deal with China.”
Trump also told reporters he thought the U.S. would have “very little problem making a deal with Europe or anybody else.”
Trump earlier this month announced a baseline 10 percent tariff on all imports. In addition, countries that were determined to be the “worst offenders” in terms of trade deficits were hit with a higher “reciprocal” tariff rate, with China, the EU, Japan, Cambodia, India, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam among those targeted.
The president has since lowered the higher “reciprocal” rates to 10 percent for 90 days to allow for negotiations. He has not offered the same pause to China, however, instead raising tariffs amid an escalating trade war.
The rollout of Trump’s tariffs has rattled financial markets and alarmed allies, some of whom have reached out to the U.S. about working out trade deals. But economists have warned that the uncertainty could push the U.S. closer to a recession or lead to a spike in inflation.
