Washington DC, April 9 -- US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (local time) defended his decision to raise tariffs on China to 125 per cent, stating, "somebody had to do it."

The President, during his meeting with Roger Penske's NASCAR, INDY, and IMSA Champions at the White House, emphasised that no other US leader would have taken such a bold stance, highlighting that the tariff hike was necessary as the previous trade imbalance with China was "unsustainable".

He pointed out that in the previous year, China made USD 1 trillion off trade with the US and that he had "reversed it" through his aggressive tariff strategy.

"Well, I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line. No other President would have done what I did... ...