According to the Washington Post, three informed sources revealed that White House officials distributed internal talking points and told agents that Trump's new global tariff plan should not be viewed as a starting point for negotiations. The informed sources said that as the world tries to understand Trump's massive new import taxes, the government's internal instructions state that advisors should describe the tariffs as a response to a national emergency, rather than the basis for potential new trade negotiations. Two informed sources said that in addition to the talking points, Trump himself told advisors that the tariffs are not meant to establish negotiations.