Trump claims his tariffs don’t exist

Canadian, U.S. stock markets plummet, companies calls levies a hindrance to business

WASHINGTON— Facing renewed criticism over his tariffs on products from China, Canada and elsewhere, U.S. President Donald Trump tried a novel argument on Tuesday. He claimed the tariffs do not exist. “We don’t have any tariffs,” Trump lied to the Wall Street Journal in an interview on Tuesday.

He continued: “We don’t even have tariffs. I’m using tariffs to negotiate.”

His comments were particularly outlandish even amid a barrage of other egregious lies from him as the midterm elections approach.

Trump has imposed tariffs on $250 billion in goods from China, which is about half of all imports from that country.

He has also imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum from Canada and other countries, plus tariffs on foreign washing machines and solar products.

“Where do we have tariffs? We don’t have tariffs anywhere,” Trump said.

“I read that today: ‘We’re worried about the tariffs.’ You know what happens? A business that’s doing badly always likes to blame Trump and the tariffs because it’s a good excuse for some incompetent guy that’s making $25 million a year.”

Trump had boasted about the tariffs that very morning on Twitter.

“Billions of dollars are, and will be, coming into United States coffers because of Tariffs,” he said in the tweet.

Trump conceded to the Journal that he has “some tariffs on steel,” but he said they are “actually small.” Trump spoke as he came under more corporate pressure over the tariffs, particularly the tariffs on China.

U.S. and Canadian stock markets have fallen sharply this week, and multiple companies have told analysts that the tariffs are a hindrance to them.

Bloomberg, reviewing earnings reports and conference call transcripts, has found that 57 companies have cited the tariffs as a negative, seven as a positive.

There is no timeline for the removal of Trump’s tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, though the two countries have successfully concluded negotiations on a new trade agreement, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, to update NAFTA.

Trump has suggested that he would want Canada to accept a quota on steel and aluminum exports to the U.S. if he were to lift the tariffs, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has resisted.

“I’d love them to be lifted today,” Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters on Monday. “It is quite reasonable to think that that positive momentum should bring Canada and the United States to simply say, ‘You know what? It’s time to lift these tariffs that we’ve imposed on each other.’”