Scores of nations want to start US trade talks

Economic strategy: Truckers work the container yard at Bensenville Intermodal Terminal in Franklin Park, Illinois. A Trump social media post fuels global debate over whether the tariffs are part of a permanent new trade regime or simply a negotiating tactic. — AP

WASHINGTON: More than 50 nations have reached out to the White House to begin trade talks since US President Donald Trump rolled out sweeping new tariffs, top officials say as they defended levies that wiped out nearly US$6 trillion in value from US stocks last week and downplayed the economic fallout.

On Sunday morning talk shows, Trump’s top economic advisers sought to portray the tariffs as a savvy repositioning of the United States in the global trade order. They also tried to minimise the economic shocks from last week’s tumultuous rollout.