Trump defends tariff tactics as smart negotiation

President Donald Trump sought to counter an emerging criticism of his on-again, off-again tariff threats, which has been dismissively described as the “TACO trade.” Based on his argument, the tariffs were applied as a wise negotiation approach. 

TACO trade, which stands for “Trump Always Chickens Out,” refers to a pattern in which the president announces the imposition of heavy new tariffs, the markets then suffer a significant decline in a short time, and, later, he pauses the tariffs or makes them less severe, causing the market to recover after declining.

Reporters asked Trump about the term at the White House. In response, he denied ever backing down, adding that his actions had put the US in a better position in trading discussions.

Trump claims the EU accused him of backing down after making a “reasonable” deal with them 

The European Union is an example of those subjected to Trump’s tariff. EU had just been hit with a 50% US tariff before Trump highlighted two days later that he was hitting a delay button on his new levy.

In his comments, the president credited the threat of a 50% tariff as a smart strategy for moving trade talks between the US and the EU.

This was after he claimed that after he did what he did, the EU said that they would meet anytime he wanted. Afterward, the president asked, “Do you really think that’s backing down?” “It’s actually called negotiation,” he added after labeling the question “mean.” 

Trump further stated that it was unfortunate that they said he was backing down when he finally made a more “reasonable” deal with them. He remarked, “That’s just unbelievable.” 

To demonstrate the TACO trade effect on the EU market, stocks dropped after Trump suggested that the US should impose a high tariff on the EU starting June 1. Later, he announced he would push that deadline back to July 9 at the request of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Following the pause on the tariffs policy, stocks bounced back across major indexes when trade resumed.

Trump’s Cabinet members describe his tariffs as a wise negotiation approach 

Trump’s Cabinet members have greatly supported his tariff policy. Last month, Trump administration officials defended the president’s wide-ranging tariffs that have created chaos on the stock market and fears of a recession, arguing that the import taxes were already forcing dozens of countries to negotiate.

They told Americans not to panic as conservatives and liberals raised questions and criticism of tariffs with increasing vigor.

Based on Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins’s claims, fifty countries contacted the White House to talk with the President due to the trade tariffs. Furthermore, White House senior counselor Peter Navarro urged everyone not to worry, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent rejected forecasts from economists and banks that suggested a recession was coming. 

The full-court press from cabinet members and advisers came as the administration faced intense pressure to walk back the tariffs, which prompted the largest loss in American stock market wealth since the panicked sell-off as COVID-19 spread in March 2020. 

Despite the strong support from his Cabinet members, several conservatives are increasingly vocal in opposing Trump’s actions, including an influential legal nonprofit backed by conservatives that is suing Trump over the tariffs, and some Republicans in both the House and the Senate are planning to try to stop the tariffs via legislation.

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