US President Donald Trump has said he was not looking at a pause on tariffs to allow for negotiations with trading partners but said he would talk to China, Japan and other countries about the duties.
Asked during a White House press availability with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he was open to pausing tariffs, Mr Trump said: "Well, we're not looking at that. We have many, many countries that are coming to negotiate deals with us and they're going to be fair deals. And in certain cases they're going to be paying substantial tariffs. There'll be fair deals."
Speaking in the Oval Office, Mr Trump also said selling energy to the European Union would be a key focus as his administration seeks to eliminate a trade deficit with the bloc.
"The European Union's been very bad to us," Mr Trump told reporters at the White House, accusing European nations of not buying enough US goods.
"They're going to have to buy their energy from us, because they need it and they're going to have to buy it from us. They can buy it, we can knock off $350 billion in one week."
Mr Trump added that "virtually every country wants to negotiate" with the US since the tariff announcement last week.
The US president said the tariffs - a minimum of 10% for all U.S. imports, with targeted rates of up to 50% - would help the United States recapture an industrial base that he says has withered over decades of trade liberalization.
"It's the only chance our country will have to reset the table. Because no other president would be willing to do what I'm doing, or to even go through it," he told reporters at the White House. "Now, I don't mind going through it because I see a beautiful picture at the end."
Mr Trump spoke hours after he ratcheted up a confrontation with China, the world's No 2 economy.
He said that he would impose an additional 50% duty on US imports from China on Wednesday if the world's second-largest economy did not withdraw the 34% tariffs that it imposed on US products last week.
The Chinese levies came in response to 34% "reciprocal" duties announced by Mr Trump.
"All talks with China concerning their requested meetings with us will be terminated!" he wrote on social media.
The announcement injected further turbulence into global financial markets, which have fallen steadily since President Trump's announcement.
The European Commission, meanwhile, proposed counter-tariffs of 25% on a range of U.S. goods, including soybeans, nuts and sausages, though other potential items like bourbon whiskey were left off the list, according to a document.
Speaking on RTÉ's Upfront, Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke said agri-foods and drinks are included in the draft list of EU countermeasures.
EU officials said they stood ready to negotiate a "zero for zero" deal with Mr Trump's administration.
"Sooner or later, we will sit at the negotiation table with the U.S. and find a mutually acceptable compromise," EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said at a news conference.
Stock markets tumble again after White House calls tariff pause report 'fake news'
US stocks briefly stopped their downward slide after a report that Mr Trump was considering a 90-day tariff pause, then turned negative again after the White House dismissed the report as "fake news".
The S&P 500 index is heading towards a 20% drop from its February high.
Asian and European shares also plunged as investors feared the duties that President Trump has likened to "medicine" could lead to higher prices, weaker demand and potentially a global recession.
Goldman Sachs raised the odds of a US recession to 45%.
The European Union said that it would start collecting retaliatory duties on some American goods next week, even as officials said they stood ready to negotiate a "zero for zero" deal with the US administration.
Aides said that Mr Trump is following through on a promise to reverse decades of trade liberalisation that he believes has undercut the US economy.
However, they also said that he is willing to negotiate with dozens of countries that have sought talks.
"He's doubling down on something that he knows works, and he's going to continue to do that," White House economist Kevin Hassett told Fox News.
"But he is also going to listen to our trading partners, and if they come to us with really great deals that advantage American manufacturing and American farmers, I'm sure he'll listen."
China's retaliatory levies are the firmest response yet to President Trump's announcement, which has been met with bewildered condemnation from other leaders.
China described his behaviour as "economic bullying".
After stocks in mainland China and Hong Kong collapsed, China's sovereign fund stepped in to try to stabilise the market.
Shares in Taiwan plummeted by almost 10% - the biggest one-day percentage fall on record.
Wall Street leaders issued warnings on US tariffs, with JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon saying they could have lasting negative consequences.
In his annual letter to shareholders, he expressed concern about how the tariffs would impact US long-term economic alliances.
"The economy is facing considerable turbulence (including geopolitics). We are likely to see inflationary outcomes ... Whether or not the menu of tariffs causes a recession remains in question, but it will slow downgrowth."
Fund manager Bill Ackman said the tariffs could lead to an "economic nuclear winter".
"We are heading for a self-induced, economic nuclear winter," if the tariffs are imposed this week, he wrote on X.
Investors and political leaders have struggled to determine whether the US tariffs are part of a permanent new regime or a negotiating tactic to win concessions from other countries.
Some in the EU worry that a forceful response risks even more blowback on European exporters.
Volkswagen's Audi is holding back cars that arrived in US ports after 2 April because of the newly imposed 25% automotive tariff.
Aircraft parts supplier Howmet Aerospace may halt some shipments if they are impacted by tariffs, according to a letter seen by the Reuters news agency.
Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, one of Washington's closest allies in Asia, held a phone call with Mr Trump to push for a deal and said that he would visit the US at an appropriate time.
