在白宫高级官员发出的混杂信息中，总统唐纳德·特朗普周一被直接问及他的全面关税是否可以谈判或继续存在。
“它们都可能是真的，”特朗普回应道。“可以有永久关税，也可以有谈判，因为我们需要关税以外的东西。”
几天来，从特朗普开始，政府官员就各国是否能采取任何措施来拯救自己免受关税的影响发表了相互矛盾的声明，其中包括周末实施的普遍10%的关税，以及他们声称将于周三生效的更有针对性的“互惠”关税。
仅在周一，财政部长斯科特·贝森特(Scott Bessent)就表示，他的任务是与日本谈判，而白宫贸易顾问彼得·纳瓦罗(Peter Navarro)则表示写一篇社论新政策“不是谈判”
贝森特在社交媒体上发布消息称，在与日本官员进行了“非常具有建设性的电话讨论”后，特朗普指示他和美国贸易代表贾米森·格里尔“开启谈判，以落实总统对全球贸易新黄金时代的愿景。”
纳瓦罗在英国《金融时报》上写道，特朗普不会放弃对美国政府视为贸易关系中最糟糕的国家征收“对等”关税。
“这关乎公平，没有人可以否认这一点。这不是谈判，”纳瓦罗写道。“对美国来说，这是一场由受操纵的体系导致的贸易逆差引发的国家紧急事件。特朗普总统总是愿意倾听。但是，对于那些在欺骗了几十年之后，突然提出降低关税的世界领导人，要知道:这仅仅是开始。”
当特朗普在白宫玫瑰园宣布全面征收关税时，他认为这是对贸易逆差和与全球伙伴的不公平做法造成的“国家紧急状态”的回应。
自那以后，国内外市场暴跌。外国领导人退缩了，有些像中国-采取报复行动美国。经济学家增加了今年经济衰退的可能性。
官员们被要求在周日早间的新闻节目中证明这一行动的合理性，这一混乱的信息再次显现出来。特朗普周末打高尔夫球，因为他的关税政策仍在继续。
商务部长霍华德·鲁特尼克(Howard Lutnick)在哥伦比亚广播公司(CBS)的新闻节目“面对国家”(Face the Nation)上表示，关税将“在几天和几周内保持不变”，“这是政策”
与此同时，国家经济委员会主任凯文·哈塞特在美国广播公司新闻节目《本周》中说吹嘘说50个国家曾与白宫就关税问题进行谈判。
特朗普周一表示，他们愿意与外国领导人达成“公平交易”，将“美国放在第一位”——但与此同时，关税将保持不变。
“我们将与每个国家达成公平和良好的交易。如果我们不这样做，我们就不会和他们有任何关系。他们不会被允许在美国参与，”他说。
美国广播公司新闻首席白宫记者玛丽·布鲁斯周一问特朗普，他是否愿意暂停关税，以便进行谈判。
“嗯，我们不会考虑这个，”特朗普回应道。“我们有很多很多国家来和我们谈判交易，而且会是公平的交易。在某些情况下，他们将支付高额关税。”
周一流传的可能暂停90天关税的传言导致股市短暂飙升至绿色区域，随后在白宫否认该报告后回到红色区域。
特朗普在椭圆形办公室表示，他不“介意经历它”，似乎是对市场批评和波动的认可，因为他认为这一天结束时是值得的。
“所以，这一定会非常有趣，”他说。“这是我们国家必须重新摆桌子的唯一机会，因为没有其他总统愿意做我正在做的事情，甚至愿意经历它。现在，我不介意穿过它，因为我在结尾看到了一幅美丽的画面。”
Are Trump's tariffs negotiable or here to stay? Amid confusion, he says it can be both.
Amid mixed messaging from top White House officials, PresidentDonald Trumpwas asked directly on Monday whether his sweeping tariffs are negotiable or here to stay.
"They can both be true," Trump responded. "There can be permanent tariffs and there can also be negotiations because there are things that we need beyond tariffs."
For days, from Trump on down, administration officials have offered conflicting statements on whether countries can do anything to save themselves from the tariffs, which include a universal 10% tariff implemented over the weekend and what they claimed were more targeted "reciprocal" tariffs to take effect on Wednesday.
On Monday alone, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent shared he was tasked with negotiating with Japan while White House trade advisor Peter Navarropenned an editorialthat the new policies are "not a negotiation."
MORE: Businesses, conservative lawyers planning legal challenge to Trump's tariffs
Bessent posted on social media that following a "very constructive phone discussion" with Japanese officials, Trump instructed him and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to "open negotiations to implement the President's vision for the new Golden Age of Global Trade."
Navarro wrote in the Financial Times that Trump wouldn't be backing down from his "reciprocal" tariffs on nations the administration's deemed the worst offenders in trade relations.
"This is about fairness, and no one can argue with that. This is not a negotiation," Navarro wrote. "For the US, it is a national emergency triggered by trade deficits caused by a rigged system. President Trump is always willing to listen. But to those world leaders who, after decades of cheating, are suddenly offering to lower tariffs -- know this: that's just the beginning."
When Trump announced the sweeping tariffs in the White House Rose Garden, he justified them as a response to a "national emergency" caused by trade deficits and unfair practices with global partners.
Since then, markets at home and abroad slumped. Foreign leaders recoiled, with some -- likeChina-- taking retaliatory action against theUnited States. Economists increased their odds of a recession this year.
Officials were pressed to justify the action on Sunday morning news shows, where again the confused messaging was apparent. Trump spent the weekend golfing as fallout from his tariff policy continued.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, on the CBS News program "Face the Nation," said tariffs were going to "stay in place for days and weeks" and that "this is the policy."
Meanwhile, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, on ABC News' "This Week,"boasted that 50 countrieshad reached out to the White House to negotiate tariffs.
Trump on Monday said they're open to "fair deals" with foreign leaders that put "America first" -- but that tariffs would stay in place in the meantime.
"We're going to get fair deals and good deals with every country. And if we don't, we're going to have nothing to do with them. They're not going to be allowed to participate in the United States," he said.
ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce asked Trump on Monday if he'd be open to a pause in tariffs to allow for negotiation.
"Well, we're not looking at that," Trump responded. "We have many, many, countries that are coming to negotiate deals with us, and they're going to be fair deals. And in certain cases, they're going to be paying substantial tariffs."
A rumor of a possible 90-day tariff pause that circulated on Monday caused stocks to briefly spike into green territory before going back into the red when the White House denied the report.
Trump said in the Oval Office that he doesn't "mind going through it," seemingly a nod to the criticism and volatility of the market because he believes it's worth it at the end of the day.
"So, it's got to be very interesting," he said. "It's the only chance our country will have to reset the table because no other president would be willing to do what I'm doing or to even go through it. Now, I don't mind going through it because I see a beautiful picture at the end."
