President Trump [AP=Yonhap News]

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has begun implementing new tariffs in earnest, reiterated the legitimacy of his policy on the 24th (local time), stating that it has attracted massive investment into the United States.

When asked by reporters at the White House whether he was confident that the new tariff measures—based on investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act—would withstand legal scrutiny, President Trump replied, "These tariffs have been in effect for a long time. They have been approved in thousands of cases over a long period."

He continued, "Although I did not agree with the Supreme Court's ruling, we have various forms of tariffs, and what we did was simply follow path 'B' (instead of path 'A')." He added, "'B' is a very common method that has been used countless times over the years, and we have utilized it."

In particular, he emphasized that thanks to his tariff policy, the Trump administration has attracted $19.2 trillion in foreign investment in just over a year, calling it "unprecedented in history."

President Trump asserted, "The Supreme Court said, 'Do it (the tariff policy) in a different way. There are other ways to do it,' and that is what we did."

The day before, the Trump administration imposed 10–12.5% "forced labor tariffs" on 60 economic entities based on Section 301 of the Trade Act. This is intended to replace the 10% "global tariff" imposed worldwide under Section 122 of the Trade Act immediately following the Supreme Court's ruling on reciprocal tariffs in February.

President Trump also reiterated his stance that he would impose separate tariffs on Canada in connection with the air pollution in the eastern United States caused by Canadian wildfires.

Furthermore, President Trump reaffirmed his existing position that Saudi Arabia’s normalization of relations with Israel—namely, joining the "Abraham Accords"—is a prerequisite for the conclusion of a nuclear cooperation agreement between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.

President Trump said, "Now is the time for Saudi Arabia to join the (Abraham) Accords," adding, "Saudi Arabia and other countries were reluctant to participate because of issues with Iran, but those problems no longer exist."

He added that he believes Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords is "very important for the future of the Middle East."

He further stated, "At some point, Saudi Arabia will join (the accords), and they will be able to engage in civil nuclear energy."

Regarding the Justice Department's issuance and subsequent withdrawal of subpoenas for New York Times (NYT) reporters who covered security concerns related to the new presidential aircraft (Air Force One), President Trump said, "We weren't targeting the reporters, we were targeting the leakers," adding, "The way to find them (the leakers) is through the reporters."

Previously, on the 8th, while leaving Turkey after attending the NATO summit, President Trump used the old Air Force One instead of the new one received from Qatar. The NYT, citing anonymous sources, reported that this was because the new Air Force One was not properly equipped with a missile defense system.

In response, the White House launched an extensive internal investigation, which included demanding that staff members submit their mobile phones to identify the source of the leak.