President Donald Trump acknowledged there may be an “adjustment period” as his tariffs take effect, but defended his push to remake the US economy and declared “momentum is back” in a primetime speech to Congress on Tuesday night.

“Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again. And it’s happening, and it will happen rather quickly,” Trump said in the longest-ever presidential address to a joint session. “There’ll be a little disturbance, but we’re okay with that. It won’t be much.”

Trump’s address comes at a pivotal moment. Data shows new strains on the economy as factory activity stagnates, inflation simmers, consumer confidence ebbs, and stocks lag behind equity markets in other countries.

Stocks swung wildly Tuesday following Trump’s most recent tariff actions against the US’s largest trading partners, with the S&P 500 Index closing at its lowest level since before the president’s election last year. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick hinted the administration might announce a pathway for tariff relief for goods from Mexico and Canada — two of the countries hit — that are covered by a free trade agreement as soon as tomorrow.

For instant reaction and analysis to President Donald Trump's joint address to Congress, plus Michigan Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin's speech in response, Bloomberg Balance of Power hosts Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz along with Bloomberg Surveillance cohost Annmarie Hordern speak with:

• • Bloomberg politics contributors Rick Davis and Jeanne Sheehan Zaino
  • US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright
  • US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Scott Turner
  • Senator Adam Schiff of California

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