MORRISTOWN, New Jersey, May 25 (Reuters) - U.S.

President Donald Trump said on Sunday his tariff policy was

aimed at promoting the domestic manufacturing of tanks and

technology products, not sneakers and T-shirts.

Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One in New

Jersey, Trump said he agreed with comments from Treasury

Secretary Scott Bessent on April 29 that the U.S. does not

necessarily need a "booming textile industry" - comments that

drew criticism from the National Council of Textile

Organizations.

"We're not looking to make sneakers and T-shirts. We want to

make military equipment. We want to make big things. We want to

make, do the AI thing," Trump said.

"I'm not looking to make T-shirts, to be honest. I'm not

looking to make socks. We can do that very well in other

locations. We are looking to do chips and computers and lots of

other things, and tanks and ships," Trump said.

The American Apparel & Footwear Association said in response

to Trump's remarks that tariffs were not good for the industry.

"With 97% of the clothes and shoes we wear being

imported, and with clothes and shoes already the most highly

tariffed industry in the U.S., we need to focus on common sense

solutions that can move the needle," AAPA President Steve Lamar

said in a statement. "More tariffs will only mean higher input

costs for U.S. manufacturers and higher prices that will hurt

lower income consumers."

Trump, who has upended world markets with the broad

imposition of tariffs, revived his harsh trade rhetoric on

Friday when he pushed for a 50% tariff on European Union goods

starting June 1 and warned Apple ( AAPL ) he may impose a 25%

levy on all imported iPhones bought by U.S. consumers.

But he dialed back on the EU threat on Sunday, extending a

deadline for those tariffs until July 9 to allow for talks

between Washington and the 27-nation bloc.

Trump won the 2016 and 2024 U.S. presidential elections

in part by appealing to working class voters hurt by the loss of

U.S. manufacturing jobs over many years.

He has sought to make good on his promises to boost

manufacturing with import tariffs and heralding investments by

companies and foreign nations into the United States, even as

the U.S. economy remains dependent on supply chains with other

countries where many goods, including textiles, are produced

less expensively.