Trump says negotiations going well as administration aims to de-escalate trade war with China
Wall Street rallied as President Donald Trump and his administration eased their tough talk on tariffs and criticism of the Federal Reserve.
Trump spoke to reporters outside the White House about countries, including China, looking to make trade deals with the U.S. on Wednesday.
"We have a lot of action going on, we have -- we're making a lot of money this country. This country is not going to be losing money on trade anymore," Trump said.
The president said the tariff negotiations were going "very well" and that his administration is seeking a "fair" deal with China. The administration expects a de-escalation in the trade war with China.
When asked if he was actively talking to them, Trump said, "Everything's active. Everybody wants to be a part of what we're doing. They know that they can't get away with it any longer, but they're still going to do fine."
Excluding an exemption on electronics, the president placed 145% tariffs on Chinese imports, while China hit back with 125% tariffs on U.S. goods.
"There is an opportunity for a big deal here that the U.S. is looking to rebalance to more manufacturing," said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent while speaking at the Institute of International Finance in Washington. He views the situation with China as an opportunity to "rebalance" together after acknowledging the ongoing tariff showdown with China was "unsustainable."
"Given how erratic they have been so far, it's going to be very hard to sort of put it all back in the bottle," said Josh Bivens, chief economist at the Economic Policy Institute.
Trump eased some uncertainty in the markets after reversing course on suggesting he would try to fire the head of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell.
"I have no intention of firing him. I would like to see him be a little more active in terms of his idea to lower interest rates. This is a perfect time to lower interest rates," Trump said.
On tariffs, the administration says more than 100 countries have reached out to make a deal. Meanwhile, China said that the U.S. should stop trying to threaten and "blackmail" its trading partner and instead focus on "mutual respect."