Commerce Secretary Ross says Trump won't back down on trade policy — even if the stock market falls

During an interview on CNBC's “Squawk Box,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said that there's “no bright line level of the stock market” that would make President Donald Trump back down on his trade policies.

What are the details?

While the U.S. economy as a whole has held up so far, the stock market has dropped repeatedly in reaction to the Trump administration's recent tariff announcements.

“Squawk Box" co-host Joe Kernen asked Ross if there was a limit to how much the stock market could hypothetically drop before the president decided to ease up on implementing some tariffs.

“Is there a notion that you've got 40 percent to work with on the gains, or 35 percent, since the election, and you won't be — I mean if we got to 20 percent down from the highs, would you at that point think maybe we're inflicting some damage, would the stock market be telling you something at that point?" Kernen asked.

“There's no bright line level of the stock market that's going to change policy,” Ross responded. “The president is trying to fix long-term problems that should have been dealt with a long time ago, weren't. And there's obviously going to be some pulling and tugging as we try to deal with very serious problems. So there will be some hiccups along the way, but the fact remains that the numbers are very small.”

Pressed on whether or not there's a even “dull line,” Ross said that the “last thing” the administration was going to do was “announce that there's a certain level in the stock market that would change policy. That's not how you make policy.”

What else did he say?

Ross was also asked about reports that the Trump administration had drafted a bill that would allow it to pass tariffs unilaterally without waiting for congressional approval. While the president's current powers to enact tariffs are broad, they are limited to instances where fears about national security can be invoked. For the steel and aluminum tariffs, the Trump administration argued that any weakening of the United States' ability to produce raw steel and aluminum would threaten long-term national security.

Ross did not deny these reports, which would put the U.S. at odds with established World Trade Organization rules.

“We've made no secret of our view that there are some reforms needed at the WTO,” Ross said, not answering the main point of the question.

Coincidentally, there is also a bipartisan bill in Congress that would prevent the president from enacting even national security-based tariffs without congressional approval.