Trump’s tariff war backfires

[Anchor]

The United States, which sparked a trade war, has also faced a backlash.

President Trump's first economic report card shows a negative growth rate for the first quarter.

However, President Trump claimed it was the fault of his predecessor, Biden.

This is Kim Kyung-soo reporting from Washington.

[Report]

In the first quarter of this year, the U.S. economic growth rate recorded a negative 0.3%.

The U.S. economy, which grew by 3.1% in the third quarter and 2.4% in the fourth quarter of last year, has returned to recession since Trump's inauguration.

The main reasons cited include companies significantly increasing imports to secure inventory ahead of the trade war and a decrease in government spending.

This marks the first quarterly negative growth for the U.S. in 33 months.

However, President Trump dismissed it as unrelated to tariffs and blamed the previous Biden administration.

[Donald Trump/President of the United States: "Core GDP, now we're removing distortions from imports, inventories, and government spending, was up 3%. But this is Biden's economy, because we took over on January 20th."]

Trump mentioned that his tariff policy has been successful in attracting investment within the U.S., specifically mentioning Samsung.

[Donald Trump/President of the United States: "I heard that they announced this morning that they are going to build a very big plant, because they want to be able to beat the tariffs."]

He also invited CEOs of companies that announced investments in the U.S., thanking and praising companies like Hyundai.

However, a Reuters poll released a day earlier showed Trump's economic approval rating at 36%, the lowest throughout his first and second terms, indicating a decline in public opinion.

The White House has launched a promotional site that compiles articles defending Trump's policies.

They are blaming the decline in public opinion on media critical of Trump.

This is Kim Kyung-soo from KBS News in Washington.