Trump tariffs live updates: US won't drop China tariffs without something 'substantial'

President Donald Trump spoke to reporters at the North Lawn Wednesday morning, continuing his relatively positive tone about tariffs. He said the U.S. is "actively" talking to China and reiterated his confidence that "we are going to have a fair deal with China."

He added that the country was losing "not a billion – a trillion" dollars a day under other presidents, particularly Biden, and that "China got out of control."

"We're going to be able to substantially lower taxes when this is finished," the president said.

"We're not going to be a laughing stock that got taken advantage of by virtually every country in the world," Trump said on tariff negotiations, promising that the country will now be "making money, a lot of money."

In a statement Wednesday, China continued to criticize President Donald Trump's tariffs while emphasizing that threats and coercion "will not work."

"If the U.S. truly wants to resolve issues through dialogue and negotiation, it should stop making threats and resorting to coercion, and engage with China on the basis of equality, mutual respect, and mutual benefit," Chinese FM spokesman Guo Jiakun said. "Saying they want to reach an agreement with China while continuing to apply maximum pressure is not the right way to deal with China, and it will not work."

"The United States' abuse of tariffs is a blatant violation of World Trade Organization rules and harms the legitimate rights and interests of all countries," Jiakun's statement added, calling America's tariffs a "typical act of unilateralism, protectionism, and economic bullying."

– ABC News' Will Gretsky

President Donald Trump on Tuesday afternoon said he has "no intention" of firing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, but he reiterated he wants the central bank to lower interest rates.

"The press runs away with things. No, I have no intention of firing him," Trump said as he took reporter questions in the Oval Office. "I would like to see him be a little more active in terms of his idea to lower interest rates. ... If he doesn't, is it the end? No, it's not. But it would be good timing."

The comments come after Trump posted on social media last week that Powell's "termination cannot come fast enough!" Since then, he's repeatedly criticized Powell as "slow" to act. The comments caused some market turmoil. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Trump's attacks of Powell, saying earlier Tuesday he had the "right" to express his displeasure with the Fed chief.

ABC News's Mary Bruce asked Trump if he agreed with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent who suggested that the current standoff over tariffs with China is not sustainable.

Trump brushed off the concerns and said he's not going to play hardball with China.

"No, we're going to be very nice. They're going to be very nice, and we'll see what happens," he said.

"But ultimately they have to make a deal because otherwise they're not going to be able to deal in the United States."