On Thursday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Ingraham Angle,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent discussed President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariff plan and stated that “If you have a tariff, we’re going to put in the same level. If you take it to zero, we’ll take it to zero.”
Host Laura Ingraham asked, [relevant exchange begins around 00:55] “[A]nother point people are asking is, why not just focus on China? We had a $279 billion trade deficit in goods — manufactured goods in 2023. Europe was about 260 billion, a lot, Mexico, high. But they’re our allies. So, why be mean to our allies, Mr. Secretary?”
Bessent answered, “Well, Laura, look, China is the most imbalanced, unbalanced country in the history of the world and President Trump, during his first term, alerted the American people to that and has taken the steps. But now, we can see, are your friends taking advantage of you? Are they your friends if they’re taking advantage of you? We have a gigantic trade deficit with the Europeans, and if President Trump is talking about reciprocal tariffs, what is wrong with reciprocal tariffs? If you have a tariff, we’re going to put in the same level. If you take it to zero, we’ll take it to zero.”
Bessent also stated that non-tariff barriers can be just as bad as tariffs and will be studied.
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