MOSCOW - US President Donald Trump, commenting on the stock market slump after he had introduced import tariffs, said that he did not want anything to fall, but "sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something," Sputnik/RIA Novosti reported.
Asian indices slumped in the early hours of trading on Monday amid a new round of the trade war between China and the United States.
"I don't want anything to go down. But sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something," Trump told reporters.
Trump had previously announced the introduction of "reciprocal" tariffs on imports from other countries.
The basic minimum rate will be 10 per cent, but for each country the tariff will be calibrated and will be half of what they charge companies importing US goods.
The new tariffs on Chinese imports are added to the previously effective measures and together reach 54 per cent, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent clarified.
In response, China's state council announced the introduction of additional tariffs of 34 per cent on all goods from the United States. The decree comes into force on April 10.
Earlier, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in an interview with Sputnik/RIA Novosti that the US increase in tariffs on goods from China was baseless, damaged global markets and harmed Washington's reputation.
According to Wang, the introduction of tariffs will not help the US solve existing problems, but "will cause serious damage not only to the global market and trade order, but also to the reputation of the United States itself." He also stressed that if the US did not stop economic pressure on China, Beijing would respond in the most decisive manner. -BERNAMA-SPUTNIK/RIA NOVOSTI