Washington: U.S. Prez Donald Trump justified his implementation of tariffs and suggested they could increase during a Tuesday meeting with the CEOs of major American corporations, many of whom have seen their market worth plummet due to recession and inflation concerns. The Republican president addressed around 100 CEOs during a typical meeting of the Business Roundtable, which features the leaders of Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab, JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N), opens new tab, and Walmart (WMT.N), opens new tab. The event came after a private gathering between Trump and executives from technology companies at the White House on Monday.
U.S. stocks on Tuesday continued a selloff, pushing the benchmark S&P 500 (.SPX) down by 5.3 per cent thus far in 2025, as investors were unsettled by rising import tariffs and declining consumer sentiment. The S&P 500's decline on Monday was the biggest this year, occurring after an interview over the weekend where Trump did not dismiss the possibility of a recession stemming from his trade policies. On Tuesday, he elaborated on those remarks, stating to reporters, "I don't view it that way at all," concerning the chance of a recession.
Trump Defends Tariffs, Markets Fall
Addressing business leaders and journalists prior to the roundtable, Trump firmly upheld his position, downplayed market fluctuations, and promised that investors would enjoy the benefits by investing their money at this time.
"The tariffs will generate a significant amount of revenue for this country," he told the CEOs, adding that "it could rise even more." The executives present remained devoid of expression while Trump delivered remarks in a short segment of the meeting accessible to the media. Laughter erupted when Trump mentioned that there were individuals in the room he wasn't fond of.
Subsequently, during a segment of the meeting that was not open to the press, Trump promised to accelerate approvals within environmental agencies and reduce tax rates to 15 per cent for companies producing goods in the U.S., based on information from someone knowledgeable about the statements. Trump stated that the markets might have been overly high just weeks prior and mentioned that Chinese President Xi Jinping was not pleased with the new tariffs, according to a source, per Reuters.
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Trump's economic strategies to date have focused on a rapid series of tariff declarations. Some have been implemented, while others have been postponed or scheduled to start later. He stated they would rectify imbalanced trade and halt the influx of illegal drugs from outside. On Tuesday, Trump intensified an escalating trade conflict with Canada, pledging to increase tariffs on all imported steel and aluminium products from the U.S.'s northern neighbour to 50 per cent, which were slated to take effect in a matter of hours. The White House subsequently stated that the tariff would stay at 25 per cent following the agreement of Canadian officials to engage in discussions.
Markets are concerned that tariffs might increase costs for companies, elevate inflation, and erode consumer confidence, negatively impacting economic growth. It has also heightened investor speculation that -Trump's aspirations won't be constrained by the interests of major corporations. The White House has rejected this perspective, held by the majority of economists, who see trade wars as a detrimental situation for the nations engaged. Trump's advisors claim that the tariff warnings will compel businesses to invest increasingly in the United States.
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