More than 50 countries have reached out to the White House to begin trade talks, a top economic adviser to US President Donald Trump said yesterday as US officials sought to defend sweeping new tariffs that have unleashed global turmoil.
During an interview on ABC News’ This Week, US National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett denied that the tariffs were part of a strategy by Trump to crash financial markets to pressure the US Federal Reserve to cut interest rates.
He said there were would be no “political coercion” of the central bank. In a Truth Social post on Friday, Trump shared a video that suggested his tariffs aimed to hammer the stock market on purpose in a bid to force lower interest rates.
In a separate interview on NBC News’ Meet the Press, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent downplayed the stock market drop and said there was “no reason” to anticipate a recession based on the tariffs.
Trump jolted economies around the world after he announced broad tariffs on US imports on Wednesday, triggering retaliatory levies from China and sparking fears of a globe trade war and recession.
On the talk shows yesterday, top Trump officials sought to portray the tariffs as a savvy repositioning of the US in the global trade order and the economic disruptions as a short-term fallout.
US stocks have tumbled by around 10 per cent in the two days since Trump announced a new global tariff regime that was more aggressive than analysts and investors had been anticipating.
It is a drop that market analysts and large investors have blamed on Trump’s aggressive push on tariffs, which most economists and the head of the US Federal Reserve believe risk stoking inflation and damaging economic growth.
Hassett said that Trump’s tariffs had so far driven “more than 50” countries to contact the White House to begin trade talks.
Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te yesterday offered zero tariffs as the basis for talks with the US, pledging to remove trade barriers rather than imposing reciprocal measures and saying Taiwanese companies will raise their US investments.
The US tariffs, however, do not apply to semiconductors, a major Taiwanese export.
In a video message released by his office after meeting executives from small and medium-sized companies at his residence, Lai said given Taiwan’s dependence on trade the economy would inevitably have a hard time dealing with the tariffs, but that he thought the impact could be minimised.
“Tariff negotiations can start with ‘zero tariffs’ between Taiwan and the United States, with reference to the US-Canada-Mexico free trade agreement,” Lai said.
Taiwan has no plans to take tariff retaliation, and there will be no change in Taiwanese companies’ investment commitments to the US as long as they are in Taiwan’s interest, he added in comments provided by his office. Taiwan’s TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, last month announced an additional $100 billion investment in the US.
“In the future, in addition to TSMC’s increased investment, other industries, such as electronics, information and communications, petrochemicals, and natural gas will be able to increase investment in the US and deepen Taiwan-US industrial co-operation,” Lai said.
Taiwan’s cabinet is considering what large-scale agricultural, industrial and energy purchases to make from the US, while the defence ministry has already put forward its weapons purchase plans, he added.
“All purchases will be actively pursued,” Lai said.
Unlike other economists, Hassett said he did not expect a big hit to consumers because exporters were likely to lower prices.
Bessent told NBC News he did not anticipate a recession based on the tariffs, citing stronger-than-anticipated US jobs growth.
“We could see from the jobs number on Friday, that was well above expectations, that we are moving forward, so I see no reason that we have to price in a recession,” Bessent said.
India does not plan to retaliate against Trump’s 26pc tariff on imports from the Asian nation, an Indian government official said, citing ongoing talks for a deal between the countries.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration has looked into a clause of Trump’s tariff order that offers a possible reprieve for trading partners who “take significant steps to remedy non-reciprocal trade arrangements”, said the official.
New Delhi sees an advantage in being one of the first nations to have started talks over a trade deal with Washington, and is better placed than Asian peers like China, Vietnam and Indonesia, which have been hit by higher US tariffs, another government official said.
India and the US agreed in February to clinch an early trade deal by autumn 2025 to resolve their standoff on tariffs.
Reuters reported last month that New Delhi is open to cutting tariffs on US imports worth $23bn.
Modi’s administration has taken a number of steps to win over Trump, including lowering tariffs on high-end bikes and bourbon, and dropping a tax on digital services that affected US tech giants.
Indonesia’s senior economic minister said it will not retaliate against the 32pc trade tariff on Southeast Asia’s largest economy.
Chief Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto said in a statement that Indonesia would pursue diplomacy and negotiations to find mutually beneficial solutions.
“The approach was taken by considering the long-term interest of bilateral trade relation, as well as to maintain the investment climate and national economic stability,” Airlangga said, adding that Jakarta will support potentially impacted sectors, such as apparel and footwear industry.
Trump’s tariff on Indonesia, one of six hard-hit Southeast Asian countries, is set to take effect on Wednesday.
The Indonesian government will gather inputs from businesses today to help formulate strategy to address the US tariff, and will find ways to increase trade with European countries as an alternative to the US and China, Airlangga said.
Jakarta has said it would send a high-level delegation to the US for direct negotiations with the government.
Indonesia posted a $16.8bn trade surplus last year with the US, which was its third-biggest export destination, receiving shipments worth $26.3bn in 2024, according to Indonesian government data.
Indonesia’s main exports to the US include electronics, apparel and clothing, and footwear.
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