Trump: "We Will Set the Terms for Trade Talks... China Also Wants a Deal"

Meeting Between Prime Minister Mark Carney and President Trump at the White House
"We Will Present Very Fair Numbers... The Other Party Will Make the Choice"

On May 6 (local time), U.S. President Donald Trump pressured trade partners to accept terms directly presented by the United States in order to avoid higher tariffs.

EPA Yonhap News

At a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House that day, President Trump said, "We will present very fair numbers," making these remarks.

He stated, "We will say, 'These are the terms we want. Congratulations. The deal is done,'" adding, "The other party will have the choice to either say 'okay' and make the deal, or say 'no' and not proceed."

President Trump said, "We do not need to make (trade) agreements. They (the partner countries) need to make agreements with us," and added, "We do not care about their markets, but they want access to part of our market."

This indicates that, since the United States is in a favorable position in trade negotiations, it intends to conduct unilateral negotiations by presenting its own terms, rather than engaging in mutual discussions with other countries.

Regarding the possibility of lifting tariffs on Canada, President Trump expressed a negative stance, saying, "We have no reason to subsidize Canada. Canada must take responsibility for its own economy."

With respect to the U.S.-China trade conflict, in which three-digit tariffs have been exchanged, he claimed that China has suffered significant damage and that the other side wants to negotiate.

President Trump said, "China wants to negotiate and wants to meet," and added, "We will meet with China at the appropriate time."

He stated that the United States is "currently not trading at all" with China and claimed that "their economy is suffering greatly because they are not trading with the United States." He went on to say that the U.S. trade deficit with China is one trillion dollars (approximately 1,380 trillion won), emphasizing, "We are not losing one trillion dollars in any way."