US President Donald Trump made noteworthy statements regarding both trade policies and tensions in the Middle East.
Trump stated that after the Supreme Court overturned certain tariffs, they have a five-month period to determine tariffs to be applied to different countries, and that tariffs will remain at 15 percent during this time. Following this period, he said, tariffs targeting specific countries will be announced gradually.
“We are conducting various tariff studies,” Trump said, arguing that tariffs must be applied against countries that “play” with monetary policies. Stating that countries that had previously reached agreements wanted to complete the process, Trump also indicated that tariffs would be increased for some countries.
Trump also argued that tariffs made the US “very rich.”
Trump reacted harshly to Spain for not allowing him to use its bases during the Iran attack, saying he would cut off all trade with the country. Stating that Spain had “behaved very badly,” Trump announced that he had instructed Treasury Secretary Bessent to halt all business dealings with Spain.
Trump, also expressing his dissatisfaction with the UK, leveled criticisms against the London government.
Trump claimed that Iran was preparing attacks on Israel and other regions, and stated that the US possessed significant military capabilities against Iran. “We are destroying Iran, we have a lot of ammunition,” Trump said, adding that developments were happening very quickly and therefore there was no plan to evacuate the embassy.
In his assessment of oil prices, Trump stated that oil prices could fall after the end of military operations against Iran. He indicated that prices might remain high in the short term but would subsequently decline, adding that with the end of the war, oil prices could fall even below previous levels.
*This is not investment advice.
