US President Donald Trump is in touch with representatives from Vietnam, India, and Israel to negotiate trade deals that could alleviate proposed tariffs on those countries in advance of a deadline next week, CNN reported on Friday, citing a source.
“Every country has called us. That’s the beauty of what we do, we put ourselves in the driver’s seat,” Trump told reporters, as reported by CNN.
“As long as they are giving us something good. For instance, with TikTok as an example, we have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?’ The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Trump on Thursday about the tariffs in a phone call.
Senior Israeli officials said that "most of it [the tariffs] can be solved."
'Not a negotiation'
Administration officials indicated that this would be a massive reset for the US economy, and implied that the president was unwilling to compromise on the tariffs, in contrast to his statements to reporters.
“The president made it clear yesterday this is not a negotiation. This is a national emergency. He’s always willing to pick up the phone to answer calls, but he laid out the case yesterday for why we are doing this," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday.
Wall Street analysts said that the tariffs would cause the stock market to nosedive.
“President Trump just finished his tariff speech at the White House, and we would characterize this slate of tariffs as ‘worse than the worst case scenario’ the Street was fearing,” said Senior Analyst at Wedbush Securities Dan Ives, as reported by CNN.
Even still, some people close to Trump have said that the US president could negotiate some parts of the tariffs.
"I wouldn’t want to be the last country to try to negotiate with @realdonaldtrump,” Eric Trump posted on X/Twitter. “The first to negotiate will win — the last will absolutely lose. I have seen this movie my entire life.”
Trump's tariffs
This comes after Trump levied a 17% tariff on Israel alongside 10% baseline tariffs on all imports to the US.
Israeli officials called the decision "unjustified" and moved to cancel any remaining tariffs on US imports on Tuesday.
"It's going to be hard," officials said, adding that they will "work to change the decision."
Israeli officials pushed for negotiations between the two countries to change the Trump administration's decision.
The Israel Export Institute said that the tariffs present a significant challenge for Israel, especially in non-exempt industries, but noted that exemptions "provide a stable foundation for continued economic cooperation."
"Israel will need to focus diplomatic and economic efforts on minimizing the damage and finding new opportunities in other markets."
Other Israeli business officials noted that the tariffs could harm Israel's economic stability in the midst of renewed operations in Gaza.
"The president's decision to apply tariff policy to Israel could harm Israel's economic stability, deter foreign investment, and weaken the competitiveness of Israeli companies in the US market," said Dr. Ron Tomer, president of the Manufacturers Association of Israel.
Trump wrote in a Saturday post on Truth Social that big businesses should not be concerned about tariffs.
"Big business is not worried about the Tariffs, because they know they are here to stay, but they are focused on the BIG, BEAUTIFUL DEAL, which will SUPERCHARGE our Economy."
Eve Young, Steven Scheer, and Amichai Stein contributed to this report.