Not even a day into the new tariffs against Canada and Mexico, President Donald Trump is considering some form of compromise on them — but not a full repeal or another total delay, reported Bloomberg News on Tuesday.
“Both the Mexicans and the Canadians were on the phone with me all day today trying to show that they’ll do better, and the president’s listening, because you know he’s very, very fair and very reasonable,” Lutnick told Fox Business. “So I think he’s going to work something out with them — it’s not going to be a pause, none of that pause stuff, but I think he’s going to figure out: you do more and I’ll meet you in the middle some way and we’re going to probably announcing that tomorrow.”
However, Lutnick stressed that a full rollback of the tariffs was not on the table.
“If you live under those rules, then the president is considering giving you relief,” he said. “If you haven’t lived under those rules, well, then you have to pay the tariff.”
ALSO READ: 'Absolutely unconscionable': Ex-Republican demands Trump removed from office after fight
The tariffs were initially to take effect in February. Trump agreed to a 30-day pause in exchange for Canada and Mexico taking border security measures they had already committed to.
This comes as the Dow Jones Industrial Average has plummeted in response to the tariffs, which business leaders and economists broadly fear will raise prices for consumer goods and materials and slow down the economy, particularly if the targeted countries retaliate with tariffs of their own.
Lutnick, for his part, has adamantly denied tariffs can cause inflation — something that puts him at odds with the consensus of economists studying the issue, as well as business owners who are already warning they are forced to raise prices.
