In an off the cuff remark he expressed regret that the whole thing has gotten so big…..
His staff had to add that he should of gone bigger….
(Trump has delayed some of his tariff raising threats as China goes toe to toe each one)
But that is NOT what he said….
Also….
Trump advised that he he would NOT move to use a 1997 law to force American companies from doing business in China , something his staff undoubtedly told him would probably cause even more worries that the import taxes moves he’s made …Trump often uses threats that he does not carry thru as negotiation tool…
He’s at a meeting of the leaders of the G-7 group in Paris….
President Donald Trump on Sunday signaled he may be having regrets about his deepening trade conflict with China, telling reporters less than 48 hours after he pledged to raise tariffs on Beijing that he has “second thoughts about everything.”
Asked during a bilateral meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson if he was second-guessing his posture on China, Trump said, “Yeah, sure why not. Might as well. Might as well.”
The comments marked the president’s first public signal of regret about how he was fighting China through escalating tariffs. But about five hours after the president’s remarks, White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement that Trump’s answer to a question about second thoughts “has been greatly misinterpreted.“
“President Trump responded in the affirmative — because he regrets not raising the tariffs higher,” Grisham wrote in the statement.
Trump’s comments came on the heels of Trump’s latest escalation in his trade war with China, which sent U.S. stocks into a downward spiral on Friday….
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Trump also said he has not been advised by U.S. allies to end his trade war with China, even as Johnson said the United Kingdom favors “trade peace on the whole” and does not like tariffs. Other European officials spent the weekend at the G7 warning that Trump’s trade wars would lead to a global recession…
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The president also suggested Sunday he had no plans to enforce his Friday edict on Twitter ordering U.S. companies to seek alternatives to manufacturing in China. Before his departure for France, the president invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 as his authority to force action by U.S. firms.
Asked Sunday if he would do so, Trump said, “Well, I have the right to, if I want. I could declare a national emergency.” But, Trump said, “I have no plan right now. Actually, we’re getting along very well with China right now. We’re talking.”…
image…WSJ