Anita Hamilton and Brian Swint

Speaking in the Oval Office following a lunch with the Prime Minister of Norway, Trump played down sagging home sales numbers released Thursday morning and continued to defend his controversial tariff policy.

"They had very good numbers on housing today," he said, adding, "housing is doing very well." Sales of existing homes were the slowest in March since 2009, according to new data released by the National Association of Realtors. Trump also reiterated his prior statements that interest rates should come down.

Regarding trade, Trump said, "I can't think of one country that doesn't want to negotiate a deal." He added that the U.S. was losing "$4 or $5 billion a day" before he took office and that he expects it to be breaking even and then start making that much in the future.

"Virtually every country got away with murder and we can't let that happen," he said.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he expected to reach an agreement on trade with South Korea soon, adding "they came with their A game" in negotiations earlier in the day.

Disputes Report That U.S. and China Aren't Talking

While at a a bilateral lunch Thursday with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, Trump said the U.S. is speaking with China, contradicting earlier comments from the Chinese foreign ministry.

"They had a meeting this morning," Trump said. When asked by a reporter who "they" referred to, the president replied, "It doesn't matter who they is. We may reveal it later. They had meetings this morning. And we've been meeting with China."

China Calls Tariff Talks 'Groundless'

The latest message from Beijing suggests there isn't much progress toward an agreement.

"China and the United States have not held consultations or negotiations on the tariff issue, let alone reached an agreement," China's foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Thursday. Reports of U.S.-China talks are "fake news."

He also called on Trump to just drop the tariffs against China. Separately, a Commerce Ministry spokesman said that any claims of progress in negotiations are "groundless."

Quantifying the Goal

U.S. officials see the tariffs on Chinese goods dropping to 50% to 65% from the current 145%, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

For its part, China had signaled that it's open to trade talks. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent earlier this week said that the current level of tariffs was essentially a trade embargo between the world's two largest economies.

Heavy-Duty Trucks May Get Caught

Administration officials are investigating the national security effects of imports of medium- and heavy-duty trucks. That could signal that tariffs similar to the 25% charge on all new light vehicles -- also known as cars -- could be around the corner. The most recent car tariffs excluded trucks.

Separately, Trump may be considering giving some tariff relief to auto makers, according to reports. Shares of Ford Motor and General Motors rose 1.4% and 1.5%, respectively on Wednesday.

Write to Anita Hamilton at anita.hamilton@barrons.com and Brian Swint at brian.swint@barrons.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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April 24, 2025 14:58 ET (18:58 GMT)

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