Trump indifferent to consequences of U.S. tariffs — Ukrainian diplomat

He shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

“The imposition of tariffs is mainly a propaganda political PR campaign aimed at fulfilling Trump’s promises to his electorate,” Shamshur said. “He has certain expectations — such as boosting government revenues, bringing American companies back, and growth of foreign investment to the U.S. — but these are political objectives and calculations.”

According to the diplomat, Trump may be affected by the reaction of financial markets, which is already highly negative. However, he is likely to hold on to his tariff policy until the very end. 

“Trump, like most politicians, never admits to mistakes, but he does tend to adjust his course if he sees things going wrong or not working as intended,” Shamshur emphasized. “So, I wouldn’t rule out a possible revision of the imposed tariffs. However, Trump is not particularly concerned about the consequences, what matters most to him is achieving his political goals by wielding the tariff weapon.”

• U.S. President Donald Trump has announced the introduction of tariffs of at least 10% on nearly all goods imported into the United States. The tariffs are set to take effect on April 9.