Somebody had to do it: Donald Trump on raising China tariffs to 125 per cent

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday local time defended his decision to raise tariffs on China to 125 per cent stating somebody had to do itThe President during his meeting with Roger Penskes NASCAR INDY and IMSA Champions at the White House emphasised that no other US leader would have taken such a bold stance highlighting that the tariff hike was necessary as the previous trade imbalance with China was unsustainableHe pointed out that in the previous year China made USD 1 trillion off trade with the US and that he had reversed it through his aggressive tariff strategyWell I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line No other President would have done what I did Somebody had to do it It had to stop because its not sustainable Last year China made USD 1 trillion off trade with the United States Now Ive reversed it Trump saidSpeaking on the 90day pause on reciprocal tariffs to over 75 countries President Trump remarked I did a 90day pause for the people who didnt retaliate because I told them if they retaliate were going to double it And thats what I did with China because they did retaliateHe expressed confidence that the trade situation would work out amazingly for the US in the long term adding that by the end of the year or possibly sooner the country would have an agreement that nobody would have dreamt possible The President also addressed the trade situation with the European Union EU claiming that the EU had not been fair to the United StatesA deal is going to be made with everyone and they will be fair deals They werent fair to the United States They were sucking us dry and you cant do that People took advantage of our country and ripped us off for decades Trump said signalling his intent to negotiate better terms with the EUIn a lighter moment during his remarks President Trump also praised the racing champions for their courage during a celebration of championship racing owner Roger Penskes career and life He quipped about the high speeds of the NASCAR machines saying These are great champions and this is a great sportTrump also recalled an experience of riding around the track in The Beast the US Presidents armoured limousine ahead of the Daytona 500 describing the crowds going crazy from inside the vehicleI wouldnt ride in that thing if you paid me he further joked referring to the IndyCar machineEarlier President Trump announced an immediate increase in tariffs on China to 125 per cent and simultaneously announced that for 75 countries that have called Representatives of the United States for trade talks he has authorised a 90day pause and a substantially lower reciprocal tariffThis came after China in a retaliatory move announced that it would increase its tariff on US goods from 34 per cent to 84 per cent starting April 10 as reported by Al JazeeraThe decision comes after the US increased tariffs on China to a whopping 104 per cent following President Trumps threat of additional 50 per cent tariffs on Beijing starting WednesdayTrump had announced an additional 50 per cent tariff on China after Beijing announced a 34 per cent tariff on the United States in a titfortat responseThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoeveratOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params