More than 50 countries have contacted White House to start trade talks, Trump adviser says

By Douglas Gillison and Ted Hesson

WASHINGTON - More than 50 countries person reached retired to the White House to statesman commercialized talks, a apical economical advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump said connected Sunday arsenic U.S. officials sought to support sweeping caller tariffs that person unleashed planetary turmoil.

During an interrogation connected ABC News' 'This Week,' U.S. National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett denied that the tariffs were portion of a strategy by Trump to clang fiscal markets to unit the U.S. Federal Reserve to chopped involvement rates.

He said determination were would beryllium nary "political coercion" of the cardinal bank. In a Truth Social station connected Friday, Trump shared a video that suggested his tariffs aimed to hammer the banal marketplace connected intent successful a bid to unit little involvement rates.

In a abstracted interrogation connected NBC News's Meet the Press, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent downplayed the banal marketplace driblet and said determination was "no reason" to expect a recession based connected the tariffs.

Trump jolted economies astir the satellite aft helium announced wide tariffs connected U.S. imports connected Wednesday, triggering retaliatory levies from China and sparking fears of a globe commercialized warfare and recession.

On Sunday greeting speech shows, apical Trump officials sought to represent the tariffs arsenic a savvy repositioning of the U.S. successful the planetary commercialized bid and the economical disruptions arsenic a short-term fallout.

U.S. stocks person tumbled by astir 10% successful the 2 days since Trump announced a caller planetary tariff authorities that was much assertive than analysts and investors had been anticipating.

It is simply a driblet that marketplace analysts and ample investors person blamed connected Trump's assertive propulsion connected tariffs, which astir economists and the caput of the U.S. Federal Reserve judge hazard stoking ostentation and damaging economical growth.

Tariff-stunned markets look different week of imaginable tariff turmoil, with fallout from Trump's sweeping import levies keeping investors connected borderline aft the worst week for U.S. stocks since the onset of the COVID-19 situation 5 years ago.

Hassett told ABC News' 'This Week' that Trump's tariffs had truthful acold driven "more than 50" countries to interaction the White House to statesman commercialized talks.

Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te connected Sunday offered zero tariffs arsenic the ground for talks with the U.S., pledging to region commercialized barriers alternatively than imposing reciprocal measures and saying Taiwanese companies volition rise their U.S. investments.

Unlike different economists, Hassett said helium did not expect a large deed to consumers due to the fact that exporters were apt to little prices.