Trump Says US Wants to Make Tanks, Not T-Shirts

Reuters

12:44 JST, May 26, 2025

MORRISTOWN, New Jersey, May 25 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday his tariff policy was aimed at promoting the domestic manufacturing of tanks and technology products, not sneakers and T-shirts.

Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One in New Jersey, Trump said he agreed with comments from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on April 29 that the U.S. does not necessarily need a “booming textile industry” – comments that drew criticism from the National Council of Textile Organizations.

“We’re not looking to make sneakers and T-shirts. We want to make military equipment. We want to make big things. We want to do the AI thing with computers,” Trump said.

“I’m not looking to make T-shirts, to be honest. I’m not looking to make socks. We can do that very well in other locations. We are looking to do chips and computers and lots of other things, and tanks and ships,” Trump said.

Trump, who has upended world markets with the broad imposition of tariffs, revived his harsh trade rhetoric on Friday when he pushed for a 50% tariff on European Union goods starting June 1 and warned Apple AAPL.O he may impose a 25% levy on all imported iPhones bought by U.S. consumers.