WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump defended his use of tariffs and said they could multiply as he met on Tuesday with the CEOs of America's biggest companies, many of whom have watched their market value crater over recession and inflation fears.

The Republican president spoke to about 100 CEOs at a regular meeting of the Business Roundtable, which includes the heads of Apple, JPMorgan Chase and Walmart. The event followed a private Trump meeting with technology company executives at the White House on Monday.

U.S. stocks on Tuesday extended a selloff that has dragged the benchmark S&P 500 down 5.3% so far in 2025, with investors rattled over increased tariffs on imports and souring consumer sentiment. [.N]

Monday's drop in the S&P 500 was its largest this year and followed an interview over the weekend in which Trump declined to rule out a recession resulting from his trade policies.

He clarified those comments on Tuesday, telling reporters, "I don't see it at all," regarding the possibility of a recession.

Speaking to business leaders and reporters before the roundtable, Trump defiantly maintained his stance, dismissed market volatility and vowed that investors would see gains for putting money to work now.

"The tariffs are going to be throwing off a lot of money for this country," he said to CEOs. "It may go up higher."

The executives in the room sat expressionless as Trump spoke during a brief part of the meeting that was open to the press. There was scattered chuckling when Trump said there were some people in the room he did not like.

Later, in a part of the meeting that was closed to reporters, Trump vowed to speed up approvals in environmental agencies and cut tax rates to 15% for companies making products in the U.S., according to a person familiar with the remarks.

Trump said markets may have been too high as of a few weeks ago, and described Chinese President Xi Jinping as not thrilled about the new tariffs, the person said.

Trump's economic policies so far have centered on a blitz of tariff announcements. Some have taken effect and others have been delayed or are set to kick in later. He said they will correct unbalanced trade and stop the flow of illegal narcotics from abroad.

Trump started Tuesday by ramping up a burgeoning trade war with Canada, vowing to double tariffs set to take effect within hours on all imported steel and aluminum products from America's northern neighbor to 50%. The White House later said the tariff would remain at 25% after Canadian officials agreed to talks.

Markets worry that tariffs could raise prices for businesses, boost inflation and undermine consumer confidence in a blow to economic growth. It has also raised investor speculation that Trump's ambition will not be bound by the preferences of big business.

The White House has dismissed this thinking, which is shared by most economists, who view trade wars as a lose-lose proposition for the countries involved.

Trump aides say the tariff threats will force companies to invest more in the United States.

VOLATILE MARKETS

"Markets are going to go up and they're going to go down, but you know what? We have to rebuild our country," Trump told reporters before he met the business leaders.

For much of his political career, Trump has talked up the importance of the stock market. During his first 2017-2021 term in office he regularly pointed to rallying stock prices as proof of his success and in both his 2020 and 2024 campaigns warned that markets could tumble if he lost.

Trump had already imposed an additional 20% tariff on Chinese goods entering the United States, and 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, although he suspended most of the duties on U.S. neighbors until April 2, when he plans to unveil a global regime of reciprocal tariffs on all trading partners.

Until recently, investors had been optimistic that Trump's policies would stimulate growth, for instance through lower taxes. They also hoped he could ease inflationary pressures, for instance by loosening regulation on fossil fuel production.

But tax cuts need congressional approval and energy producers are unlikely to dramatically scale up production, which could cut their profit margins. Meanwhile, some economists see plans to increase deportations of undocumented immigrants increasing price pressures in the labor market. Cutting the federal workforce could raise unemployment.

"If we all are becoming a little more nationalistic ... it's going to have elevated inflation," said BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, a Business Roundtable member, at an industry conference on Monday.

Last week, the Business Roundtable warned that if they are long-lasting, the tariffs "run the risk of creating serious economic impact."