Donald Trump preferred to remain vague when a reporter from Fox News asked him during an interview with the television network broadcast yesterday (Sunday) if he expects a recession in the U.S.

“I hate to predict things like that,” the U.S. president replied.

The country is going through a “period of transition,” said the Republican mogul, who since returning to the White House has been embroiled in disputes with his country’s major trading partners – starting with Canada and Mexico.

He imposed tariffs of 25% on them this week before cancelling most of them and announcing a postponement of their implementation until next month, early April.

When pressed by reporters on the presidential jet yesterday asking him to clarify whether he expects a recession, Mr Trump remained vague, saying simply “who knows?”

Since his return to the White House, experts expect a recession in the US – technically, the term means GDP will fall for at least two consecutive quarters.

Within weeks, Donald Trump announced tariffs on products imported into the US before backing down on most and most countries of origin.

Would he like to offer more clarity to companies on his future decisions regarding customs tariffs perhaps?

“You’ll have plenty,” he assured Fox News before adding, “Some customs duties may be increased. It will depend (…) I don’t think they will be reduced, but they may be increased.”

This has made financial markets nervous and many companies seem dazed, not knowing where they stand.

Economists at major US banks warned on Friday that “the longer customs tariffs remain in place, the more the risk of a recession increases.”

Committee members of the American Bankers Association (ABA) are also concerned about the backlash Donald Trump’s economic policies will have on consumers, given that the tariffs mean price increases.

But if the baseline is “a scenario that projects that the new customs tariffs will not remain in place throughout 2025,” the risk of a recession is low, according to these experts.

The most recent period when the US had recorded a recession for a short period of time was in early 2020, amid the pandemic crisis of the new coronavirus pandemic.