Washington April 6 2025: More than 50 nations have reached out to the White House to begin trade talks since U.S. President Donald Trump rolled out sweeping new tariffs, top officials said on Sunday as they defended levies that wiped out nearly $6 trillion in value from U.S. stocks last week and downplayed economic fallout.
On Sunday morning talk shows, Trump’s top economic advisers sought to portray the tariffs as a savvy repositioning of the U.S. in the global trade order. They also tried to minimize the economic shocks from last week’s tumultuous rollout, ahead of Monday’s expected bumpy opening of Asian stock markets.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said more than 50 nations had started negotiations with the U.S. since last Wednesday’s announcement, putting Trump in a position of power.
Neither Bessent nor the other officials named the countries or offered details about the talks. But simultaneously negotiating with multiple countries could pose a logistical challenge for the Trump administration and prolong economic uncertainty.
“He’s created maximum leverage for himself,” Bessent said on NBC News’ ‘Meet the Press.’
Bessent downplayed the stock market drop and said there was “no reason” to anticipate a recession based on the tariffs, citing stronger-than-anticipated U.S. jobs growth.
Trump jolted economies around the world after he announced broad tariffs on U.S. imports, triggering retaliatory levies from China and sparking fears of a global trade war and recession.
