Trump compares tariffs to 'medicine' as Asian markets convulse

By Trevor Hunnicutt

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday foreign governments would have to pay "a lot of money" to lift sweeping tariffs that he characterized as "medicine," prompting further carnage in global financial markets.

Asian stocks posted steep losses in early trading on Monday and U.S. stock market futures opened sharply lower as investors registered concerns that Trump's tariffs could lead to higher prices, weaker demand, lower confidence and potentially a global recession. 

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump indicated he was not concerned about losses that have already wiped out trillions of dollars in value from share markets around the world.

"I don't want anything to go down. But sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something," he said as he returned from a weekend of golf in Florida.

Trump said he had spoken to leaders from Europe and Asia over the weekend, who hope to convince him to lower tariffs as high as 50% due to take effect this week.

“They are coming to the table. They want to talk but there’s no talk unless they pay us a lot of money on a yearly basis," Trump said.

Trump's tariff announcement last week jolted economies around the world, triggering retaliatory levies from China and sparking fears of a global trade war and recession.

Investors and political leaders have struggled to determine whether Trump's tariffs are here to stay, or part of a permanent new regime or a negotiating tactic to win concessions from other countries.

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.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said more than 50 nations had started negotiations with the U.S. since last Wednesday's announcement. "He's created maximum leverage for himself," Bessent said on NBC News' 'Meet the Press'.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on CBS News' 'Face the Nation' the tariffs would remain in place "for days and weeks."

White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett sought to tamp down concerns that the tariffs were part of a strategy to pressure the U.S. Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, saying there would be no "political coercion" of the central bank.

JPMorgan economists now estimate the tariffs will result in full-year U.S. gross domestic product declining by 0.3%, down from an earlier estimate of 1.3% growth, and that the unemployment rate will climb to 5.3% from 4.2% now.

Billionaire fund manager Bill Ackman, who endorsed Trump's run for president, said Trump was losing the confidence of business leaders and warned of an "economic nuclear winter" unless he called a time out. 

TARIFF DEALMAKING

U.S. customs agents began collecting Trump's unilateral 10% tariff on all imports from many countries on Saturday. Higher "reciprocal" tariff rates of 11% to 50% on individual countries are due to take effect on Wednesday at 12:01 a.m. EDT (4:01 a.m. GMT).

Some governments have already signaled a willingness to engage with the U.S. to avoid the duties.

Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te on Sunday offered zero tariffs as the basis for talks with the U.S., pledging to remove trade barriers and saying Taiwanese companies will raise their U.S. investments.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would seek a reprieve from a 17% tariff on the country's goods during a planned meeting with Trump on Monday.

An Indian government official told Reuters the country does not plan to retaliate against a 26% tariff and said talks were under way with the U.S. over a possible deal.

In Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni - a Trump ally - pledged on Sunday to shield businesses that suffered damage from a planned 20% tariff on goods from the European Union.

Italian wine producers and U.S. importers at a wine fair in Verona on Sunday said business had already slowed and feared more lasting damage.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt, Jarrett Renshaw, Daphe Psaledakis, Steve Holland, Douglas Gillison, Ted Hesson, Kanishka Singh and Susan Heavey in Washington; Tom Westbrook in Singapore; Ben Blanchard in Taipei; Sara Rossi in Verona, Italy; Khanh Vu and Francesco Guarascio in Hanoi; and Shivangi Acharya and Aftab Ahmed in New Delhi; Writing by Andy Sullivan and Ted Hesson; Editing by Ross Colvin, Chizu Nomiyama, Diane Craft, Nick Zieminski and Lincoln Feast.)