LEILA FADEL, HOST:

There were cheers at the opening bell on Wall Street this morning.

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FADEL: The markets were up around 3%. European and Asian markets also made gains after days of tariff-induced turmoil.

A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:

On social media yesterday, President Trump called for people to, quote, “be strong, courageous and patient.” In the Oval Office, he said this.

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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: It’s the only chance our country will have to reset the table 'cause no other president would be willing to do what I’m doing or to even go through it. Now, I don’t mind going through it because I see a beautiful picture at the end.

MARTÍNEZ: But he also appears open to negotiations.

FADEL: Here with the latest on where the president’s tariff policy is, NPR senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith. Hey, Tam.

TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: Good morning.

FADEL: Good morning. So there has been a question all along of whether the president’s steep tariffs are just an elaborate negotiating tactic or an enduring policy shift. What have you learned?

KEITH: For now, at least, the answer appears to be yes-and. President Trump took questions from the press in the Oval Office yesterday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sitting in the chair next to him, and Netanyahu announced he would quickly eliminate all tariffs on American goods and reduce the U.S. trade deficit to zero. But when asked whether he would reduce the 17% tariff the U.S. is set to apply to Israeli goods, Trump said maybe not. He said his tough tariffs are getting trading partners to offer big concessions.

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TRUMP: Virtually every country wants to negotiate. If I didn’t do what I did over the last couple of weeks, you wouldn’t have anybody who wants to negotiate. We would have gone to these countries, you want to talk? And they were, well, we don’t want to talk. Now they’re coming to us.

KEITH: He says a team from Japan is coming to the U.S. to negotiate. Vietnam is sending one, too. So Trump is certainly signaling that he is open to negotiating, but he is also digging in.

FADEL: How is he digging in?

KEITH: Well, the president was asked if he might put a pause on his tariffs while negotiations play out, and he said no. Trump and top administration officials continue to make the case that this is about wholly restructuring the U.S. relationship with the global economy, bringing jobs and manufacturing back to the U.S. and making the U.S. wealthy. The president is urging patience.

And then there’s China. They slapped a retaliatory tariff on the U.S. after Trump’s announcement last week. Trump is saying that if they don’t reverse course, he will hike the tax on Chinese imports even higher for a grand total of a 104% tariff. China isn’t backing down, though, and overnight, its commerce ministry accused the U.S. of blackmail, saying in a statement, quote, “China will fight till the end.”

FADEL: Now, the stock markets are reflecting this anxiety about the impact these tariffs could have on trade and the U.S. economy in the short term. What are the politics of these tariffs for the president and his party?

KEITH: Well, President Trump believes firmly that he is right about tariffs and all the experts and economists who say prices will go up and the U.S. could be thrown into recession, they’re all wrong. But if the dire warnings about prices rising because of tariffs become a reality, a reality that voters feel, or if the economy slows down or falls into recession, there won’t be any question about whose economy this is. President Trump has made a historically dramatic economic policy move here based on a conviction that he has held since the 1980s. If he succeeds, he can claim all the credit. But if he fails, he and his party will get all of the blame.

FADEL: NPR’s Tamara Keith. Thanks, Tam.

KEITH: You’re welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.