Tariffs imposed by the US administration on products from a number of countries cannot be lifted. US President Donald Trump acknowledged this in an interview with NBC News.
He was asked whether the duties would remain permanent or be phased out later. “No, I wouldn't do that, because if someone thought the tariffs were going to be removed, why would they invest in the US?“, the US leader said.
He added that he had been “very tough on China“ on trade, but stressed that Beijing now wants to reach an agreement with Washington. “It means we're not losing a trillion dollars because we're not doing business with them right now. And they want to make a deal. They're very eager to make a deal. We'll see how things go, but it should be a fair deal," Trump said.
The head of state stressed that he would not make exemptions from tariffs for small American businesses, saying that entrepreneurs do not need it.