I don't think it's so complicated: he's selling access. Hit by a prison sentence? Come talk to me and "negotiate" a pardon. Hit by my EO? Come talk to me and "negotiate" a settlement. Hit by a tariff? Come talk to me and "negotiate" an exemption. Etc.
That was before I got into trading, but I remember that day clearly. All the media were buzzing and everybody thought the sky was falling. By the next week, it was more like "WTF was that all about?"
Dude, this is killing someone and then saying, "Oops, sorry. Can we talk?" He's the one who imposed the tariff. It's not for him to "negotiate".