National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett asserted that the economy is improving in key ways as others stoke fears of an impending recession.

Delayed tariffs against Mexico and Canada will likely result in “a little disturbance,” President Donald Trump said, which prompted concerns about a greater economic downturn. Hassett defended the threat of tariffs, which will begin on April 2, and cited the good that has come from them.

“If we have a recession, one of the first things that goes down is industrial production, right, and capital spending. Capital spending is moving. Industrial production is booming. Housing we saw yesterday is booming cause mortgage rates are down a whole percentage point because of the DOGE savings and the way that’s affecting long-term interest rates. So there’s a lot of positive news in the economy right now. Everybody is focused on the potential harm from tariffs, but what I am seeing is visible gains from the threat of tariffs because everybody’s moving their auto production back to the U.S. And there’s huge, huge capacity for that to go up,” Hassett said.

Other White House officials have largely avoided speculating about the possibility of a recession in the United States, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller punting the question when asked in interviews.

STEPHEN MILLER DISMISSES ‘PROGNOSTICATIONS’ ON IMPENDING RECESSION

Earlier this month, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics issued a lackluster jobs report, Hassett pointed out that there were “more manufacturing jobs” reported. The economy added 151,000 jobs in February.

According to the White House, roughly 62% of imports from Canada, including energy products, and 50% of imports from Mexico will still be subject to the 25% tariff.