Kids may get 2 dolls not 30, but China will suffer more in trade war, says Trump

President Donald Trump on Wednesday acknowledged that his tariffs could lead to fewer and costlier products in the United States, saying American kids might “have two dolls instead of 30 dolls,” but insisted that China would suffer more from the trade war. 

The Republican president tried to reassure a nervous nation that his aggressive trade policies would not trigger a recession, even as a new Commerce Department report showed the U.S. economy shrank at an annual rate of 0.3% in the first quarter. Behind the contraction was a surge in imports as companies rushed to beat sweeping tariffs



on autos, steel, aluminum, and goods from nearly every country.

“You know, somebody said, ‘Oh, the shelves are going to be open,’” Trump said. “Well, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls. So maybe the two dolls will cost a couple bucks more than they would normally.”

At a Cabinet meeting earlier in the day, Trump told his aides that tariffs were causing “tremendous difficulty” for China’s factories, which he claimed are “not doing business,” adding that the U.S. doesn’t really need imports from the world’s leading manufacturer.