President Trump late Sunday defended his tariff plan amid recession fears, saying they are sparking investment in the United States.
Trump spoke aboard Air Force One, where he said he was elected because of the tariffs.
“This was one of the biggest reasons I got elected, was exactly because of this,” Trump said.
“We’re going to put tariffs — we already put them on. It’s not a question if we will. We will put them on,” he continued. “And those tariffs next year will make us $1 trillion.”
Markets fell sharply in the days after Trump imposed his tariffs. They apply to nearly every country that exports goods to the U.S. and caused concern for higher prices domestically despite the Trump administration arguing it will bring jobs back to the U.S.
Trump on Air Force One said that “thousands of companies” will relocate to the U.S.
“In North Carolina, already furniture people are starting to move back in,” Trump said. “In Detroit and Michigan, which I won because of what I said, what I’m telling you, car companies are starting to open up. In Indiana, a big one is under construction as an example, Honda.”
“They are moving in like nobody has ever seen before,” he added.
Trump also argued that it’s “unsustainable” for China to have “surpluses of a trillion dollars.”
“We will be taking in over a trillion dollars over the next short period of time with the tariffs that I’ve already instituted and they’re already in place,” Trump said.
He noted the stock market uncertainty and said he “can’t tell you” what is going to happen.
“But I can tell you how our country has gotten a lot stronger,” Trump said. “And eventually, it’ll be a country like no other. It’ll be the most dominant country economically in the world, which is what it should be.”