At APEC, Trump frames tariffs as "economic security," cites deficit reduction projection

Speaking at the APEC session, Donald J. Trump framed his reciprocal-tariff approach as an element of national security and economic strategy. "All tariffs, now projected to reduce our deficit by $4,000,000,000,000 over the next 10 years," he said, and he urged companies that do not want to pay tariffs to "build your factory in America," noting that firms located in the U.S. would face "0 tariffs."

Trump described tariffs as a lever to counter what he called unfair trade practices and to re-shore manufacturing. He told attendees the policy is intended both to strengthen alliances and to change the incentives facing foreign producers, arguing that tariffs create pressure for firms to locate production in the United States to avoid the levies. These comments were delivered as assertions in the speech; the transcript records the projection and the rationale as the speaker's claims but does not include supporting fiscal analysis within the remarks.