US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Sunday said President Donald Trump's tariffs would remain in place ‘for days and weeks,’ and that some islands inhabited by penguins were included on the list so that countries could not use them as a loophole.’What happens is, if you leave anything off the list, the countries that try to basically arbitrage America, go through those countries to us,’ he told CBS News' ‘Face the Nation’ programme.’There's no postponing. They are definitely going to stay in place for days and weeks,’ Lutnick added.Meanwhile, 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 said yesterday as they defended levies that wiped out nearly $6tn in value from US stocks last week and downplayed economic fallout.Trump's top economic advisers sought to portray the tariffs as a savvy repositioning of the US in the global trade order. They also tried to minimize the economic shocks from last week's tumultuous rollout, ahead of Monday's expected bumpy opening of Asian stock markets.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said more than 50 nations had started negotiations with the US since last Wednesday's announcement, putting Trump in a position of power.Neither Bessent nor the other officials named the countries or offered details about the talks. But simultaneously negotiating with multiple countries could pose a logistical challenge for the Trump administration and prolong economic uncertainty.’He's created maximum leverage for himself,’ Bessent said on NBC News' 'Meet the Press.' Bessent downplayed the stock market drop and said there was ‘no reason’ to anticipate a recession based on the tariffs, citing stronger-than-anticipated US jobs growth.Trump jolted economies around the world after he announced broad tariffs on US imports, triggering retaliatory levies from China and sparking fears of a global trade war and recession.JPMorgan economists now estimate the tariffs will result in full-year US gross domestic product declining by 0.3%, down from an earlier estimate of 1.3% growth, and that the unemployment rate will climb to 5.3% from 4.2% now.US customs agents began collecting Trump's unilateral 10% tariff on all imports from many countries on Saturday. Higher ‘reciprocal’ tariff rates of 11% to 50% on individual countries are due to take effect on Wednesday.Some nations have already signaled a willingness to engage with the US to avoid the duties.Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te offered zero tariffs as the basis for talks with the US, pledging to remove trade barriers and saying Taiwanese companies will raise their US investments.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would seek a reprieve from a 17% tariff on the country's goods during a planned meeting with Trump on Monday.An Indian government official said the country does not plan to retaliate against a 26% tariff and said talks were under way with the US over a possible deal.
