President Donald Trump said if the US still has high tariffs on foreign imports a year from now, he would consider it a “total victory.”
Trump made the comment in an interview with “Time” magazine published Friday about the first 100 days of his term, which he will reach on April 30. The interview took place at the White House on Tuesday.
During the interview, which was conducted by senior political correspondent Eric Cortellessa and editor in chief Sam Jacobs, “Time” asked the president if he’d consider it a victory if “high tariffs, whether it’s 20% or 30% or 50%,” were still in place in a year.
“Total victory,” Trump replied, adding, “Because the country will be making a fortune.”
Trump said that having zero tariffs “would be easy” but that it would not incentivize companies to produce their goods in the US.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump has said his sweeping tariff policy would encourage companies to build and invest in the US. The tariffs currently include a universal 10% tariff on most countries and a 145% tariff on China. Higher tariffs on other countries are currently under a 90-day pause that Trump announced earlier this month.
Trump’s tariff announcement on April 2 tanked stock prices and financial markets around the world. Though there’s been some recovery, markets have remained volatile as the uncertainty around tariffs continues.
Trump has said he wants to lower or eliminate US trade deficits with other countries and that he has been in talks with leaders around the world to strike deals on trade. He has also said Americans could feel “short-term” pain as a result of tariffs.
On Tuesday, the same day Trump gave the interview to Time, he told reporters at the White House that tariffs on China would “come down substantially,” but not to zero.
Markets also reacted positively on Wednesday after The Wall Street Journal reported Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said there was an “opportunity” for a big trade deal with China.
But Chinese officials on Thursday denied Trump’s claim that China and the US were in talks on a trade deal.
Trump also told “Time” he has made 200 trade deals, though as of Friday none had been announced.
He declined to elaborate on the deals when asked, but said they would be finished “over the next three to four weeks.”
