Trump advisers say 50-plus countries have reached out for tariff talks with White House

Global economic uncertainty ensues as over 50 countries negotiate with the U.S. over President Trump's new tariffs.

Top administration officials said on Sunday (April 6, 2025) that more than 50 countries targeted by President Donald Trump’s new tariffs have reached out to begin negotiations over the sweeping import taxes that have sent financial markets reeling, raised fears of a recession and upended the global trading system.

The higher rates are set to be collected beginning on Wednesday, ushering in a new era of economic uncertainty with no clear end in sight. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said unfair trade practices are not “the kind of thing you can negotiate away in days or weeks.” The United States, he said, must see “what the countries offer and whether it’s believable.”

Mr. Trump, who spent the weekend in Florida playing golf, posted online that “WE WILL WIN. HANG TOUGH, it won’t be easy.” His Cabinet members and economic advisers were out in force on Sunday defending the tariffs and downplaying the consequences for the global economy.

“There doesn’t have to be a recession. Who knows how the market is going to react in a day, in a week?” Mr. Bessent said. “What we are looking at is building the long-term economic fundamentals for prosperity.”

Mr. Trump’s tariff blitz, announced on April 2, fulfilled a key campaign promise as he acted without Congress to redraw the rules of global trade. It was a move decades in the making for Mr. Trump, who has long denounced foreign trade deals as unfair to the U.S. He is gambling that voters will be willing to endure higher prices for everyday items to enact his economic vision.

Countries are scrambling to figure out how to respond to the tariffs, with China and others retaliating quickly.

Top White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett acknowledged that other countries are “angry and retaliating,” and, he said, “by the way, coming to the table.” He cited the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative as reporting that more than 50 nations had reached out to the White House to begin talks.