Trump warns of ‘transition cost’ from tariffs

U.S. President Donald Trump warned of the “transition cost” from his tariff policies, as Wall Street stocks fell again  over the worsening trade war with China.
| Photo Credit: AP

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday (April 10, 2025) warned of the “transition cost” from his tariff policies, as Wall Street stocks fell again over the worsening trade war with China.

“There will be a transition cost, and transition problems, but in the end, it’s going to be a beautiful thing,” Mr. Trump said as he seeks to reorder the world economy by forcing manufacturers to base themselves in the United States.

Also read | Trump’s global tariffs LIVE

Meanwhile, the White House clarified that Chinese imports will be tariffed at 145%, not the 125% rate that Mr. Trump had written about in his post on Truth Social on Wednesday (April 9, 2025), once other previously announced tariffs were included.

Mr. Trump at his cabinet meeting expressed hope that he could get an agreement with China, though he didn’t offer any specifics on what he was seeking.

“Well, we’ll see what happens with China,” Mr. Trump said. “I would love to be able to work a deal.”

Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, told Fox News’ “Fox and Friends” on Wednesday (April 9, 2025) that the administration already has “offers on the table from more than 15 countries.”

Mr. Hassett said the next step will be determining exactly what Mr. Trump wants out of the negotiations.

“We have a meeting today with all the top principals where we’re going to present to the president a list of what we think his priorities might look like,” Mr. Hassett said. “And I’m sure he’s going to, you know, have his own ideas about where to move things.”

U.S. stocks are diving on Thursday (April 10, 2025) and surrendering a chunk of their historic gains from the day before as Mr. Trump’s trade war continues to confuse and threaten the economy, even if its temperature has cooled a bit.

The S&P 500 was down 3.6% in afternoon trading, slicing into Wednesday’s surge of 9.5% following Mr. Trump’s decision to pause many of his tariffs worldwide. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1,135 points, or 2.8%, as of 1:56 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 4.3% lower.