Earlier on Monday, the news agency Reuters reported on its website that the White House's economic adviser Kevin Hassett said in an interview that Trump is considering a 90-day tariff pause against all countries except China. A message that made the stock exchanges jump.
When the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about the reports, she replied briefly: "fake news", false information.
Trump himself has shared a clip on his own social media platform Truth Social, where he cites a host from the right-leaning news channel Fox News saying:
Interest rates are plummeting, oil prices are plummeting, deregulation is underway. President Trump will not back down.
Before the White House's denial became known, Sweden's Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Benjamin Dousa (M) welcomed the report of a potential pause. But he was also asked if it is possible to trust Trump as a counterpart when new messages come from one hour to the next.
Just the uncertainty and unpredictability have a price in themselves when Swedish, European, and American companies do not know what rules apply in our role in a week or in a month. It lies like a wet blanket over all economic activity, he says.
