Fox News Interview
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick stated that President Donald Trump is leveraging the strength of the U.S. economy to open up the Chinese market. Secretary Lutnick also said that President Trump is focusing on bringing manufacturing back to the United States.
In an interview with Fox News on the 11th (local time), Secretary Lutnick mentioned the U.S. tariff on China of 145% and China's retaliatory tariff on the U.S. of 125%, saying, "These tariffs are too high for doing business. That is why the teams (the U.S. and China trade negotiation teams) are talking now."
He added, "The rest of the world is at 10%. Don't exaggerate too much. We are the consumers of the world. Everyone wants to sell their goods here and also needs to do business with the United States. We are using the strength of our economy to open up their markets for our exporters."
Earlier that day, in an interview with CNN, Secretary Lutnick commented on the trade negotiations with China, saying, "I am optimistic that it will be resolved well."
In this context, President Donald Trump also remarked on the first day of negotiations, the 10th, stating, "There was a complete reset negotiation of the U.S.-China trade relationship," and assessed that "significant progress has been made."
Secretary Lutnick stated that President Trump is focusing on bringing manufacturing back to the United States. He said, "If you want to produce overseas, that's fine. But you will have to pay tariffs, and you will be less competitive in the United States. So manufacture in America."
He also said that trade agreements being pursued with other major economies such as the United Kingdom will enable more American manufacturers to export to those countries.
Secretary Lutnick explained, "Our idea is to allow Americans to export to these countries and to help America grow. We want to sell things like agricultural products, vegetables, machinery, and ethanol to those countries, lower their tariff rates, and at the same time, bring manufacturing back to the United States."
Earlier, in an interview with CNN, Secretary Lutnick stated that the basic tariff of 10% would not be lowered, but that some items could be exempt from tariffs in country-specific negotiations.
He said, "The basic tariff will not go below 10%. That is a point we cannot go past," but added, "We will address specific issues with each country. For example, we have said that steel, aluminum, and aircraft parts could be imported without tariffs."
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