Not showing any concern about a big Monday sell off on Wall Street fueled by worries about a U.S.-China trade dispute, President Donald Trump dug in his heels on Monday with Beijing, threatening to slap tariffs on another $325 billion in imports from China, arguing that the U.S. economy will prevail in any extended trade conflict.
"We're in a great position right now," President Trump told reporters at the White House, as he said if China continues to retaliate against U.S. industries with additional market barriers and tariffs, there will be a stiff response.
"We have the right to another $325 billion at 25 percent in additional tariffs," Mr. Trump said, just hours after China announced it would add tariffs to $60 billion of American exports to the Chinese, as the trade tit-for-tat roiled Wall Street for much of Monday.
"I love the position we're in," as the President seemed to revel in the trade brinkmanship.
The President acknowledged that retaliation by China isn't coming painlessly, as he confirmed reports that the feds would be offering farmers billions in aid to deal with lost markets.
“We love our farmers, we take care of our farmers,” the President said.
Last year, the President authorized $12 billion in bailout payments to farmers to help ease the pain of lost markets due to retaliatory tariffs.
Mr. Trump said Monday that this round could be as much as $15 billion.
“Our farmers are going to be very well taken care of,” the President added.
But among farm state Senators, there was clearly concern.
The Trump Administration wasted no time on the threat of additional tariffs, posting a 142 page rundown of the Chinese products which would face additional tariffs when imported into the U.S.
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