Tuesday on FBN’s “Mornings with Maria,” Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) acknowledged the short-term pain associated with the Trump administration’s tariff policy but acknowledged there would be tangible benefits in the long term.
According to the Louisiana Republican lawmaker, the proof was in other nations’ efforts to negotiate a resolution with the United States.
“[T]he problem is, is, with all of this uncertainty around tariffs, this bill becomes so much more important, just for clarity for the markets, so that we don’t see a deterioration in market value. The White House says almost 70 countries have reached out to negotiate on tariffs and trade as President Trump threatens to veto a Senate Bill giving tariff authority to Congress,” host Maria Bartiromo said. “Where are you on this? Seven Republican senators backed the bill. Nebraska Congressman Don Bacon introducing a House version of it, Congressman. Do you want Congress to get involved in President Trump’s decision making on tariffs?”
Scalise replied, “No, I don’t, Maria and look, this is a healthy debate. Let everybody have it, but President Trump said, in the State of the Union, go back and watch the tape. He said, look, trust me on this, there will be some short term pain, but long term, we’re going to get fair trade. Countries are going to have to stop ripping us off. And I think everybody in America gets that, even the people that are concerned about the effects on today’s market or even on today’s prices, they recognize. You know, China cheats, manipulates currency, all of those things, but other countries are taking advantage of us too, that are friendly countries, and why are we letting that happen for decades and decades. If we can get zero tariffs by everybody, look at what you talked about a little while ago with Europe.”
“You know, they have a VAT tax, which is in essence, like a tariff on American products,” he added. “We don’t do that to them. Why don’t they treat us the same way? Open up barriers — remove barriers to trade, allow American companies to sell their products into foreign nations, friend or foe, just as easy as it is for them to sell their products here. If you get to fair trade, and that’s the end result of this, I think everybody will look back and go, this was a good thing, and that’s look. That’s why there’s a line out the door, Scott Bessent mentioned of countries wanting to get new trade deals with the United States.”
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