U.S. President Donald Trump said he was open to reducing his tariffs if other nations were able to offer something ¡°phenomenal,¡± indicating that the White House was open to negotiations despite the insistence of some top officials.

Trump, speaking on Air Force One on Thursday, broadly defended his tariff program despite a stock market meltdown, saying he was happy that interest rates were falling and believed that the economic turbulence would settle.

¡°The tariffs give us great power to negotiate,¡± Trump said, adding that ¡°every country has called us.¡±