President Donald Trump has no plans to delay or extend his sweeping tariff policy, the White House confirmed on April 8 — a firm stance that signals Washington is digging in for a prolonged trade standoff with China.
In a high-stakes, the administration made clear that Trump's approach to global trade remains unapologetically aggressive.
“President Trump is willing to pick up the phone and talk,” the White House press secretary said during a briefing. “He met with his trade team this morning, and he directed them to have tailor-made trade deals with each and every country that calls up this administration to strike a deal and listen.”
“Each and every one of these trade deals should be tailored and unique… based on that country’s markets, exports, and imports here in the United States,” the official added. “The President is focused on putting America first.”
The statement comes just 24 hours after Trump threatened a new 50% tariff on Chinese goods if Beijing refuses to lift its retaliatory levies — pushing tensions to the brink. China’s commerce ministry has vowed to “fight to the end,” accusing the U.S. of “blackmail” and economic sabotage.
Trump’s tariff blitz, initially launched on “Liberation Day,” has already triggered a global market shakeout, wiping over $5 trillion from equities and sending Bitcoin tumbling to five-month lows. The situation has now escalated into a battle of “wills and principles,” according to Chinese economists — with no off-ramp in sight.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin (BTC) was trading at $77,079.22, down 2.3% on the day.