Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick emphatically rejected the risks of a recession even as markets slide — and said America’s biggest trading partners could easily avoid Trump’s twice-delayed tariffs. Lutnick, 63, was asked if he was worried about the US sliding into recession Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” — and gave an unequivocal answer.

Washington – President Donald Trump launched a trade war Tuesday against America’s three biggest trading partners, drawing immediate retaliation from Mexico, Canada and China and sending financial markets into a tailspin as the U.S. faced the threat of rekindled inflation and paralyzing uncertainty for business.

The levies, ordered by President Donald Trump in February, include imports from Canada and Mexico — which are among the top foreign suppliers — and apply to finished metal products, too. US steelmakers have urged Trump to resist exemptions to the tariffs, which risk hitting US companies that use aluminum and steel.