US president says economy is in a “period of transition” amid uncertainty over his trade policies.
United States President Donald Trump has declined to rule out the possibility that the world’s largest economy is headed for a recession amid market concerns over his “America First” economic agenda.
In an interview with Fox News that aired on Sunday, Trump demurred when asked if he expected a recession this year.
“I hate to predict things like that. There is a period of transition, because what we’re doing is very big. We’re bringing wealth back to America. That’s a big thing,” Trump said during an interview with Sunday Morning Futures.
“It takes a little time, but I think it should be great for us.”
Trump’s comments come amid market jitters over his back-and-forth announcements on tariffs and signs of a slowdown in the US economy.
Trump last week slapped 25 percent tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada and doubled the rate of duties on Chinese goods to 20 percent.
But just 48 hours later, he announced he would postpone some of the tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods until April 2.
The benchmark S&P500 index dropped more than 3 percent from last Monday to Friday, racking up its worst weekly performance since September.
On Thursday, the Atlanta Federal Reserve’s gross domestic product (GDP) tracker downgraded its estimate for the January-March period to a 2.4 percent contraction, down from a 2.3 percent expansion last month.
On Friday, Goldman Sachs raised the odds of a recession over the next 12 months from 15 percent to 20 percent.
In a more positive sign for the economic outlook, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday reported the addition of 151,000 jobs in January – slightly below economists’ forecasts but roughly in line with the 2024 average.
In an interview with NBC later on Sunday, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick dismissed talk of a possible recession.
“Donald Trump is a winner. He’s going to win for the American people. That’s just the way it’s going to be,” Lutnick said during an interview with Meet the Press.
“There’s going to be no recession in America.”
“I would never bet on recession,” Lutnick added. “No chance.”