President Trump says he has 'flexibility' on tariffs, rejects claims of inconsistency

U.S. President Donald Trump is challenging claims of inconsistency with regard to his tariff campaign calling his approach thus far "flexible" but pledging "very little flexibility" after reciprocal tariffs take effect in early April.

Lee Seung-jae reports.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday stressed that April 2nd will be a "very big day" for the United States. as his reciprocal tariffs go into effect.

Trump slammed the previous administration for America's losses in trade., but said the U.S. will "take back a lot of what was stolen from it by other countries."

However, Trump also noted that he has shown "flexibility" on his tariff policy, rejecting claims that his policy implementation has been inconsistent, as seen through his on-and-off tariff impositions on Canada and Mexico.

The U.S. leader also warned that once the tariffs go into effect, "there will be very little flexibility."

Meanwhile,.. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Wednesday, that the European Union's new retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. came "too little too late."

According to Greer, the EU's latest tariff on U.S. imports "completely disregards" the national security imperatives of the United States, adding that the bloc's trade and economic policies are "out of step with reality."

The comments come as the EU announced it will respond to Trump's 25-percent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, by imposing its own tariffs on U.S. goods worth over 28 billion U.S. dollars, set to take effect on April 13.

Canada also announced its own retaliatory tariffs on nearly 30 billion dollars worth of U.S. imports,.. after the 25 percent steel and aluminum tariffs went into effect on Wednesday.

Canada says it will follow a "dollar-by-dollar" approach, and impose 25-percent tariffs on U.S. imports, including steel, computers, and sports equipment.

Meanwhile, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum says her country will wait until April 2nd to decide whether to respond to the steel and aluminum tariffs.

Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.