US President Donald Trump refused to say whether he believes the tariffs imposed by his administration will lead to a recession in the US this year.
During an interview with Fox News, he was asked if he expects a recession in 2025 because of the tariffs. "I hate to predict situations like this. This is a transitional period, because what we are doing is quite large-scale. We are bringing wealth back to America. This is very important. And there are always periods - it takes a little time. It will take a little time. But I think it should be wonderful for us. “I mean, I think it should be wonderful“, the head of state replied.
He emphasized that the tariff increase will most likely continue. "You know, tariffs could go up over time, I don't know if that's predictable," Trump said. The president acknowledged that import tariffs could cause disruptions to the economy. He was asked if he was referring to the stock market crash in recent days over tariffs on Canadian and Mexican products. "What I have to do is build a strong country. You can't follow the stock market. If you look at China, they have a 100-year perspective. We start in the neighborhoods. And you can't be guided by that. "You have to do what's right," Trump stressed.
In turn, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick dismissed the possibility of a recession in America in an interview with NBC News. "Absolutely not," he stressed when asked if Americans should prepare for a recession. The minister added that "there will be no recession in America."
Consumer sentiment in the US is falling, inflation is rising and major banks such as JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs say a recession is increasingly likely in the next 12 months.
On March 4, the US administration imposed a 25% tariff on almost all imports from Canada and Mexico, and also raised tariffs on goods from China from 10% to 20%. On March 6, Trump signed executive orders to postpone until April 2 the imposition of 25% import tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico that fall under the trilateral trade agreement. He indicated that there will be no such relief after that date. In addition, Trump previously announced his intention to impose new, retaliatory tariffs on imported goods from April 2. On average, the European Union, China, Brazil, India, Mexico and Canada impose much higher tariffs on the United States than the United States imposes on them, he said.