Trump Says He Will ‘Give Up Tariff Points’ Only If Countries Fully Open Markets

Trump said on Wednesday that he will only lower tariffs if countries agree to open their markets to U.S. businesses, pointing to fresh agreements with Japan and Indonesia that he claimed mark a historic shift in bilateral trade dynamics.

“I will always give up tariff points if I can get major countries to open their markets to the USA,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Another great power of tariffs. Without them, it would be impossible to get countries to open up.”

The comments come amid a flurry of trade deal activity, with the Trump administration accelerating its push for bilateral deals ahead of an August 1 deadline tied to its latest round of global tariff reviews. 

“Remember, Japan is, for the first time ever, OPENING ITS MAKET [Market] TO THE USA, even to cars, SUV’s, Trucks – and everything else, even agriculture and RICE, which was always a complete NO, NO,” he wrote on Truth Social.

He added that Japan has also agreed to purchase “billions of dollars worth of military and other equipment” and would return “90% of 550 BILLION DOLLARS - AND MORE!!!”

Regarding Indonesia, Trump said American businesses will make a fortune.

The President emphasized that tariffs were instrumental in securing trade deals, noting that, “The Open Market Japan may be as big a profit factor as the Tariffs themselves, but was only gotten because of the Tariff Power.”

He reiterated that, without tariffs, “it would be impossible” to compel countries to change trade practices. 

The S&P 500 was on track to hit another record high in morning trade on Wednesday if momentum holds. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was up 0.23% and the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) gained nearly 0.36%. The Invesco QQQ Series 1 Trust (QQQ), which tracks the Nasdaq-100,  edged 0.16% lower.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around SPY fell to ‘neutral’ territory from ‘bullish’ over the past day, while retail sentiment around DIA dipped to the ‘bearish’ zone from ‘neutral’.

Read also: Bessent Says EU’s Tariff Threat Just A Negotiating Tactic, US Making Progress With Beijing: ‘We Don’t Want To Decouple From China'

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