Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House
Listening to Trump at this afternoon's event, one thing jumped out at me: Trump's apparent certainty that China will also eventually come to the table.
"A deal is going to be made with China," he told reporters. "A deal is going to be made with every one of them."
In his comments, Trump also claimed he had begun the process during his first administration - a process he says was waylaid by the Covid-19 pandemic, which he referred as a "mess caused by China".
"We didn't have time to do the right thing, which we're doing now," he added.
His comments echoed those of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent earlier, who said he was "certain" that China's reciprocal tariffs would hurt their economy more than the American one.
For the moment, it seems as if China and the US are playing a game of chicken to see who blinks first - and Trump seems certain it will be China.
