Financial markets across the globe posted a third day of losses on Monday as investors worried that steep trade barriers around the world's largest consumer market could lead to a recession. The S&P 500 closed lower after a rollercoaster session in which it touched its lowest level in more than a year.
Trump said the tariffs - a minimum of 10 per cent for all US imports, with targeted rates of up to 50 per cent - would help the United States recapture an industrial base that he says has withered over decades of trade liberalisation.
"It's the only chance our country will have to reset the table. Because no other president would be willing to do what I'm doing, or to even go through it," he told reporters at the White House.
"Now, I don't mind going through it because I see a beautiful picture at the end."
Trump spoke hours after he ratcheted up a confrontation with China, the world's No. 2 economy.
Trump said he would impose an additional 50 per cent duty on US imports from China on Wednesday if it did not withdraw the 34 per cent tariffs it had imposed on US products last week. Those Chinese tariffs had come in response to 34 per cent "reciprocal" duties announced by Trump.
Beijing responded with defiance. Trump's threat was a "typical move of unilateralism, protectionism and economic bullying," Chinese embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said.
The European Commission, meanwhile, proposed counter-tariffs of 25 per cent on a range of US goods, including soybeans, nuts and sausages, though other potential items like bourbon whiskey were left off the list, according to a document seen by Reuters.
Officials said they stood ready to negotiate a "zero for zero" deal with Trump's administration. "Sooner or later, we will sit at the negotiation table with the US and find a mutually acceptable compromise," EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said at a news conference.
The 27-member bloc is struggling with tariffs on autos and metals already in place, and faces a 20 per cent tariff on other products on Wednesday. Trump has also threatened to slap tariffs on EU alcoholic drinks.
Trump administration officials say the president is following through on a promise to reverse decades of trade liberalisation that he believes has undercut the US economy.
Wall Street leaders issued warnings on US tariffs, with JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon saying they could have lasting negative consequences, while fund manager Bill Ackman said they could lead to an "economic nuclear winter".
Ackman is one of a handful of Trump supporters who questioned the strategy. Billionaire Elon Musk, who is leading Trump's effort to slash government spending, called for zero tariffs between the US and Europe over the weekend.
Investors and political leaders have struggled to determine whether Trump's tariffs are permanent or a pressure tactic to win concessions from other countries. Some in the EU worry that a forceful response risks even more blowback on European exporters of everything from French cognac and Italian wine to German cars.
Some governments in Asia have signalled a willingness to engage. Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te on Sunday offered zero tariffs as the basis for talks, while an Indian government official said Delhi does not plan to retaliate.
with DPA and Reuters
