National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said Monday that “more than 10” countries have made “very good, amazing” trade deal offers to the United States after President Donald Trump imposed steep tariffs on imports from many nations.
Hassett also said in a Fox Business interview that there is no chance at all — “100% not” — that the U.S. will experience a recession in 2025.
He denied there was any insider trading by Trump or White House officials ahead of the president’s monthslong pause in so-called reciprocal tariffs Wednesday.
Trump, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick are mulling whether offers of trade pacts from other countries are “good enough,” Hassett said in the interview.
“The one question that I have open in my mind is, should we go one at a time, or should we announce a bundle all at once?” Hassett said.
He also said business executives have been telling him that companies are pushing to move their overseas operations back to the U.S, while consumers are buying up foreign goods because they are “worried about future tariffs.”
“So everything’s through the roof, anecdotally,” he said, adding that recent U.S. jobs report data is “really, really good.”
An industry group survey published Monday found that 62% of U.S. CEOs now expect a recession or other economic downturn within the next six months. A day earlier, Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio said on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that he was worried that turmoil from Trump’s tariffs and economic policies will lead to “something worse than a recession.”
Hassett’s optimism about America’s trade and economic trajectory came as stock market indices rose Monday morning.
The gains followed news over the weekend that Trump had granted an exemption on reciprocal tariffs imposed on imported electronics, including phones, computers and semiconductors.
Trump later insisted Sunday in a Truth Social post that there was no exemption granted, and that tariffs on those items would be imposed in a different “bucket” later.
On Wednesday, Trump abruptly announced that the sweeping reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries he had announced April 2 would be reduced to a 10% flat rate for 90 days.
The postponement, announced just hours after the steep tariffs took effect, sent stocks soaring after a four-day slide.
That swing led Democrats to ask questions about possible market manipulation or insider trading.
Lawmakers pointed to Trump’s Truth Social post in which he declared “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!” hours before announcing the tariff pause.
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said Sunday that “there’s enough smoke here that should demand congressional hearings.”
House Democrats on Thursday asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate, noting, among other things, a “spike” in purchases of call options minutes before Trump announced the tariff delay. Call options give their holders the right to buy stock shares at a certain price, and act as effective bets that that price will be lower than the retail price of the shares at the time the options are executed.
On Friday, Democrats in the Senate also wrote to the SEC, asking for an investigation.
Hassett, asked about Booker’s push for hearings, said, “There was no insider trading at the White House.”
But he said the large stock movements will be investigated by the proper authorities, he said.
“When there are big movements in markets, then there are people around town that investigate and make sure that nothing funny was happening,” he said.
“But I’m sure it’s not anything to do with the White House,” Hassett added.
