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President Donald Trump on Monday doubled down on harsh trade rhetoric toward China, causing U.S. markets to notch steep losses early in the session before mostly recovering.
NO MORE ‘LOSING’ TO CHINA
A day after tweeting a threat to increase tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports to 25% from 10%, and to slap 25% tariffs on an extra $325 billion in imports “shortly,” Trump vowed to shrink the U.S. trade gap with China.
“With China we lose 500 Billion Dollars. Sorry, we’re not going to be doing that anymore!”, the president said. The U.S. actually ran a $419 billion deficit in goods with China in 2018, despite efforts by the administration to reduce the gap.
Now read: Why the U.S.-China trade deficit is so huge: Here’s all the stuff America imports
Reignited worries over a trade brawl pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.25% and other U.S. stock benchmarks lower Monday, with the Dow falling as much as 472 points before slashing losses on reports a delegation from China will still meet with U.S. officials this week. The Dow finished the day just 66 points lower.
Also read: With Trump threatening to tighten the trade screws, here’s a look at what tariffs have done so far
ABE CALL AFTER NORTH KOREA MISSILE TEST
Trump said he’d spoken with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe about North Korea and trade, after Pyongyang’s state media confirmed a short-range-missile launch on Saturday.
“The two leaders discussed recent developments on North Korea and reaffirmed U.S.-Japan unity in how to achieve the final, fully verified denuclearization of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” a White House statement said.
The Trump administration had earlier played down the threat presented by North Korea’s latest weapons threats and said it was eager for nuclear talks to resume.
Read: Trump administration plays down latest North Korea missile test
Trump spoke with Abe ahead of a scheduled visit by golfer Tiger Woods to the White House, where Woods was to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Separately on Monday, Trump’s administration moved ahead with allowing an extra 30,000 seasonal workers to return to the U.S. this summer — a higher-than-expected number that reflects internal tensions in the White House’s approach to legal immigration, as the Wall Street Journal wrote.
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