Trump says he has ‘potential’ trade deals with India, South Korea, Japan as US economy slumps

During a town hall on Wednesday on the NewsNation TV, Trump was asked when he would announce agreements with India, Japan and South Korea, to which he responded saying “We have potential deals with them,” Reuters reported.

“I’m in less of a hurry than you are. We are sitting on the catbird seat. They want us. We don’t need them,” Trump said in the town hall.

Trump’s remark comes in the backdrop of the Commerce Department reporting that the US economy shrank by 0.3% annual rate during the first quarter, a first time plunge in the past three years. Among the multiple reasons for the slump, a surge in imports can be attributed as the apex as companies front-run the sweeping tariffs on autos, steel, aluminum and almost every country.

In a post on Truth Social, the US president pointed fingers at his predecessor Joe Biden for the fall in stock market as the gross domestic product (GDP) report came out. “This is Biden’s Stock Market, not Trump’s,” the Republican leader, who took office in January, said.

“Tariffs will soon start kicking in, and companies are starting to move into the USA in record numbers. Our Country will boom, but we have to get rid of the Biden ‘Overhang.’ This will take a while, has NOTHING TO DO WITH TARIFFS,” Trump posted on Truth Social.