WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Donald Trump is meeting with his cabinet at the White House Thursday.
This comes a day after Trump backed off his tariffs on most nations for 90 days even as he further raised the tax rate on Chinese imports to 145%.
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China has retaliated with tariffs on U.S. goods of 84%, which took effect Thursday.
Trump opened the meeting with his Cabinet by defending his moves on tariffs.
“We’re very happy with the way the country’s running. We’re trying to get the world to treat us fairly,” Trump said.
He said of yesterday’s retreat from many of his steep tariffs and the market’s wild swings, “We had a big day yesterday.”
U.S. stocks are giving back some of their historic gains from the day before. The S&P 500 was down 2.3% early Thursday, a day after surging 9.5% following Trump’s decision to pause many of his tariffs worldwide. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 685 points, and the Nasdaq composite was down 2.9%.
Elon Musk participated in Trump’s Cabinet meeting to promote his work with the Department of Government Efficiency.
In a message to Americans, he said, “We’re going to be spending their tax dollars in a way that is fair and sensible and good.”
Musk stated he expects to achieve $150 billion in savings during the next fiscal year by reducing waste and fraud, which he described as “very common.” This figure is significantly lower than his previous target of cutting $1 trillion, a number he mentioned last month in a Fox News interview.
Musk and Trump have indicated that the billionaire entrepreneur will likely end his role with the administration in the near future.
During the Cabinet meeting, Trump announced a new proposal allowing farmers to recommend migrant workers who can remain in the country temporarily and eventually be granted legal status.
Trump offered few details about the proposal, which appears to soften his previous pledge for large-scale deportation of immigrants living in the country illegally.
“So the farmer will come in with a letter concerning certain people saying, ‘They’re great. They’re working hard.’ We’re going to slow it down a little bit for them,” Trump said.