President Trump is sticking to his guns with respect to tariffs despite fears on Wall Street, telling members of the press corps on Monday that he will not be pausing any of the taxes. When asked about some of the conflicting messages coming from his administration about the permanence of the tariffs, he said all options are on the table. 

Markets have been troubled by Mr. Trump’s broad-based tariffs that are set to impact every country on the globe. According to one calculation done by Forbes, more than $9 trillion has already been lost in the stock market since the new import taxes were announced last week. 

On Monday morning, he demanded that investors hold strong and not panic. 

“The United States has a chance to do something that should have been done DECADES AGO. Don’t be Weak! Don’t be Stupid!” Mr. Trump declared on Truth Social. “Don’t be a PANICAN (A new party based on Weak and Stupid people!). Be Strong, Courageous, and Patient, and GREATNESS will be the result!”

The president offered little clarity for investors on Monday who are unsure about when or if these tariffs will be lifted. 

“It can both be true. There can be permanent tariffs and there could also be negotiations because there are things that we need beyond tariffs,” Mr. Trump said when asked if the taxes will be permanent in order to boost domestic manufacturing. 

His staff have helped contribute to the confusion in recent days. On Monday morning, the director of the National Economic Council, Kevin Hassett, said the president is leaving all doors open in studying what tariffs to maybe reduce or kill. Mr. Trump’s top trade advisor Peter Navarro, however, wrote on Monday in an opinion piece for the Financial Times that America will not accept countries’ offers for slightly better trade deals. 

“This is not a negotiation. For the US, it is a national emergency triggered by trade deficits caused by a rigged system,” Mr. Navarro writes. “To those world leaders who, after decades of cheating, are suddenly offering to lower tariffs — know this: that’s just the beginning.”

Mr. Navarro’s stated goal of an increase in American manufacturing jobs could take time, however. Mr. Trump conceded as much during the Oval Office event with Prime Minister Netanyahu on Monday. 

“That takes time,” a reporter told the president when he began talking about new commitments some companies have made to invest in America. 

“Of course it takes time,” he shot back. “Are you asking me a question or are you telling me? Yeah, it takes time. You gotta build a thing called a factory. You gotta build your energy. You gotta do a lot of things.”

Secretary Bessent echoed those sentiments in a sit-down interview with Tucker Carlson over the weekend, saying that the tariffs will incentivize a re-shoring of industry. He went on to say that the federal employees now being laid off by the administration can get work as manufacturers. 

“The president is reordering trade,” Mr. Bessent said. “We are shedding excess labor in the federal government and bringing down federal borrowings. And then on the other side that will give us the labor that we need for the new manufacturing.”

The administration has already announced that they are in talks with some countries to discuss lowering trade barriers. Mr. Trump has already had calls with the leaders of Vietnam and Japan, and Mr. Bessent says he is beginning negotiations with the Japanese. 

One entity that Mr. Trump does not seem interested in dealing with is the European Union, which on Monday offered “zero-for-zero” tariffs on certain products. The president says they need to go much farther in lowering non-financial trade barriers. 

“The EU has been very tough over the years,” the president told reporters. “They formed together to create a little bit of a monopoly situation — to create a unified force against the United States for trade. So, they have NATO, which is largely the same countries, and they took advantage of us dollar-wise and militarily.”