The next is the transcript of an interview with Trade Secretary Howard Lutnick that aired on “Face the Country with Margaret Brennan” on April 6, 2025.MARGARET BRENNAN: Mr. Secretary, welcome to “Face the Country.”COMMERCE SECRETARY HOWARD LUTNICK: Nice to be right here.MARGARET BRENNAN: We see about 60% of American citizens have cash within the inventory marketplace, which imply that retirees may well be simply as involved as hedge fund managers this morning. Did you are expecting this stage of outrage within the monetary markets?SEC. LUTNICK: Smartly, you have to notice it is a nationwide safety difficulty. I imply, we do not make drugs on this nation anymore. We do not make ships. We do not have sufficient metal and aluminum to battle a combat, proper? All our semiconductors are made in a foreign country. So each button we press once we attempt to get started our automotive and even use our microwave, those are all semiconductors. They are all made in different places. We have were given to begin to offer protection to ourselves, and now we have were given to prevent having all of the nations of the arena ripping us off. We’ve a $1.2 trillion industry deficit, and the remainder of the arena has a surplus with us. They are incomes our cash. They are taking our cash, and Donald Trump has observed this, and he’ll forestall it. So it’s going to be a large alternate. In fact, it is going to be a large alternate, yet the remainder of the arena has been ripping us off for a majority of these a few years. Donald Trump has observed it. He is spoken about it–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –I needless to say and–SEC. LUTNICK: –and he is simply no longer going to take it anymore. And that’s the reason his style.MARGARET BRENNAN: And that was once abundantly transparent all the way through the presidential marketing campaign, how a lot the president actually believes in price lists and placing them on the heart of his financial coverage, yet you noticed absolute panic within the world markets. Did you are expecting that or had been you shocked?SEC. LUTNICK: No, I feel the purpose is, you wish to have to reset the facility of america of The united states and reset it in opposition to all our allies and our enemies alike. The- the concept all of the nations of the arena can run industry surpluses with The united states and purchase our issues with us– bear in mind, $1.2 trillion. in 1980 we had been a web investor- that means we owned extra of the remainder of the arena than they owned of us–
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah, it is a other global now, it is a other marketplace.SEC. LUTNICK: And now- and now they personal 18- they personal $18 trillion folks, web. In order that approach the remainder of the- yearly once we run a $1.2 trillion deficit, the remainder of the arena buys $1.2 trillion of The united states, and it is going up and up and up. And sooner or later we are not going to possess The united states, and we’re going to be owned by way of the remainder of the arena.MARGARET BRENNAN: Are you speaking about–SEC. LUTNICK: Believe if we had a conflict and we will’t construct a boat, we will’t fly a airplane. We will’t construct our personal planes–MARGARET BRENNAN: Ok–SEC. LUTNICK: –we do not have our personal semiconductors. That is what the President is right here to repair for The united states. It is- he- in his palms, and he desires to repair The united states. That is his chance–MARGARET BRENNAN: Understood. So–
SEC. LUTNICK: –to repair The united states, and we’d like him to repair it for our kids and our grandchildren.MARGARET BRENNAN: Ok, yet for- for companies to do what you are doing, as a result of what I listen you laying available in the market is a plan to re-industrialize america and to deliver corporations again to The united states. For a CEO to make a choice to invest–SEC. LUTNICK: Smartly mentioned. Smartly mentioned.MARGARET BRENNAN: –but for a CEO to make the ones decisions- you understand this- they want simple task. They want to know if it prices them extra to stick in a foreign country, or if it prices them extra to transport right here. So are you able to give them readability, in order that they do not simply lower jobs as a result of they are coping with the price of those tariff- price lists. Are you able to inform them how lengthy they are staying in position?SEC. LUTNICK: Completely. The US of The united states goes to offer protection to the individuals who put money into The united states. Trillions and trillions of dollars- you heard the President discuss it- are coming to put money into The united states. That is the financial system of the arena. We’re the shopper of the arena, and corporations want to construct it right here, and we can give protection to them for construction it right here.MARGARET BRENNAN: Ok, so–SEC. LUTNICK: We will be able to assist the American employees, sure. American employees are costlier, yet they are higher.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I were given it–SEC. LUTNICK: We are going to give protection to all of the factories that come to The united states, and that’s the reason what is coming right here. So, the President is on it–(CROSSTALK)MARGARET BRENNAN: Ok, is the ten% tariff everlasting?SEC. LUTNICK: He is going to offer protection to them- smartly, bear in mind, it is a nationwide safety issue–MARGARET BRENNAN: –I were given it. Is the ten% tariff everlasting?SEC. LUTNICK: –and he wishes to handle our finances deficit- that- the, you understand, the regulations of The united states are the regulations of The united states, he would adore it to be that we’d like to offer protection to the corporations that make investments right here, and we’re going to give protection to the corporations that make investments right here. That’s the coverage of america of The united states. That is why trillions of greenbacks are coming right here. The rip off of the- of america of The united states is over. These kinds of corporations are going to return and make investments right here. That is what they are doing. That is why they have dedicated trillions of greenbacks. They know here is the economy–
MARGARET BRENNAN: – Ok, Mr. Secretary, though–SEC. LUTNICK: –this is where to head.(END CROSSTALK)MARGARET BRENNAN: Mr. Secretary, the marketing campaign’s over. You gained. So I am asking what the plan is. So the treasury secretary mentioned on any other community, “we are going to hang the route.” “It is not the type of factor you’ll be able to negotiate away in days or perhaps weeks.” That makes it sound just like the price lists are staying in position no less than for days or perhaps weeks. Is that proper? Or is the President taking into account suspending implementation to barter?SEC. LUTNICK: There is not any suspending. They’re unquestionably going to stick in position for days and weeks. This is kind of evident. The president must reset world industry. Everyone has a industry surplus and we have now a industry deficit. We’re paying away our long term and our lives. Come- the nations of the arena are ripping us off, and it has got to finish. The President has made it crystal, crystal transparent. That is the coverage we are going to give protection to. The factories that come construct in The united states, we are going to give protection to them. They are going to achieve success. That is why they will construct in The united states, the best financial system within the earth. All of those corporations are going to return and construct right here.MARGARET BRENNAN: So when 3 of the President’s different financial advisers, who’re on different networks nowadays, say that fifty other nations had been calling the White Area to take a look at to speak about the price lists, what does that imply? As a result of that makes it sound like there’s a negotiation, which isn’t like announcing the price lists are everlasting.SEC. LUTNICK: Smartly, what it displays is that a majority of these nations know that they have been ripping us off, and the day has come for that to finish. Now the issue is, it is not simply tariffs- like, I’m going to come up with an instance, like Vietnam mentioned they might love to be zero-zero. Take into account, Vietnam sends us $120 billion price of products each year–
MARGARET BRENNAN: Sure, affordable manufacturingSEC. LUTNICK: And we ship them about $12 billion- wait, we ship them $12 billion. So it is not the price lists. It has not anything to do with price lists. In the event that they went to zero-zero, they’d move to 200 billion with us. We want to forestall the rip off, and zero-zero is- is the way–MARGARET BRENNAN: –I do know yet we do not have zero-zero, sir.SEC. LUTNICK: –to make it extra of a rip off. We’d like–MARGARET BRENNAN: We do not have zero-zero if truth be told, as a result of once we noticed the president stand within the Rose Lawn preserving up that chart that you just helped make, that- that wasn’t if truth be told price lists. That was once if truth be told complicated to buyers, as it was once some roughly different components, and the nations themselves appeared roughly random. Like, why are the Heard and McDonald Islands, which do not export to america and are fairly actually inhabited by way of penguins, why do they face a ten% tariff? Did you employ AI to generate this?SEC. LUTNICK: No. No, the idea- glance, the belief is that there are not any nations left off.MARGARET BRENNAN: Why are they at the checklist?
SEC. LUTNICK: For the reason that idea- what occurs is, in the event you depart anything else off the checklist, the nations that attempt to mainly arbitrage The united states undergo the ones nations to us. Any country- like we had price lists, the President put price lists on China, proper, in 2018, after which what China began doing is that they began going thru different nations to The united states. They only constructed thru different nations, thru The united states. And so, the President is aware of that, he is uninterested in it, and he’ll repair that. So mainly he mentioned, glance, I will be able to’t let any a part of the arena be a spot the place China or different nations can send thru them–MARGARET BRENNAN: In the course of the Heard Islands.SEC. LUTNICK: –so the top of the ones loopholes- those ridiculous loopholes. And now what he is seeking to say is, I’ll repair the industry deficit of america of The united states. It is a nationwide safety difficulty. We want to make drugs. We want to make semiconductors. We want to make ships. We want to have metal and aluminum. Come on, we’d like the greatness of The united states to if truth be told be in-built The united states. And he is uninterested in getting ripped off by way of the remainder of the arena.MARGARET BRENNAN: Ok, yet simply to be transparent, April 9, the so-called retaliatory tariffs- the reciprocal price lists, I will have to say. Are the ones coming or are they open to negotiation?SEC. LUTNICK: The price lists are coming. He introduced it, and he wasn’t kidding. The price lists are coming. In fact they’re.MARGARET BRENNAN: Ok. Is the management taking into account any roughly offset, any roughly subsidy? You discussed the primary management, there was once some bailout to farmers to assist them care for the ache from Chinese language retaliation. Are you having a look at that now?SEC. LUTNICK: I am- no longer that I have- I’ve no longer participated in any conferences with recognize to that. The rustic is targeted on- you know, trillions of greenbacks of factories are going to be in-built The united states. That is massive GDP. The factories being in-built The united states are massive GDP–
(BEGIN CROSSTALK)MARGARET BRENNAN: That takes years–SEC. LUTNICK: And that’s going to subject to us.MARGARET BRENNAN: And also you mentioned that robots are going to fill the ones jobs. So the ones don’t seem to be union employee jobs.SEC. LUTNICK: No, it is actually computerized jobs. It is computerized factories- computerized factories. However the bottom line is, who is going to construct the factories? Who is going to perform the factories? Who is going to cause them to paintings? Nice American employees. You understand, we’re going to replace–MARGARET BRENNAN: You mentioned robots on different networks. You mentioned that to FOX.SEC. LUTNICK: –the armies of tens of millions of people- smartly, bear in mind, the military of tens of millions and tens of millions of human beings screwing in little- little screws to make iPhones, that roughly factor goes to return to The united states. It will be computerized and nice American citizens- the tradecraft of The united states, goes to repair them, goes to paintings on them. They are going to be mechanics. There is going to be HVAC experts. There is going to be electricians, the tradecraft of The united states. Our highschool skilled American citizens- the core to our group of workers, goes to have the best resurgence of jobs within the historical past of The united states to paintings on those high-tech factories, which can be all coming to The united states. That is what is going to construct our subsequent technology of The united states.
(END CROSSTALK)MARGARET BRENNAN: Are you involved, within the time it’ll take for an organization to transport to The united states, that it’ll get advantages China in the- within the speedy time period, that different markets will glance to different providers as an alternative of coping with america?SEC. LUTNICK: This is ridiculous. The issue is, everybody on the earth sells to us. Our financial system is the patron of the arena. We’re the one one with a industry deficit. The remainder of the arena has a industry surplus. Why does Europe have a industry surplus? Is there one thing about Europe that is particular? Severely, are they a unique global than we’re? Why are they promoting 200 billion a year–MARGARET BRENNAN: Oh, Mr. Secretary.SEC. LUTNICK: –more to us. This is because it is not honest. The principles are made no longer honest, and President Trump goes to repair them, and he is doing it for The united states, and he is doing it on your kids and mine and our grandchildren. That is the instant that america of The united states takes hang of itself, and Donald Trump’s been speaking about this his entire lifestyles. That is Donald Trump’s schedule, and we are all right here to assist him execute it.MARGARET BRENNAN: And we can take him at his phrase, fairly actually. Thanks, Mr. Secretary, on your time this morning. “Face the Country” will likely be again in a minute. Stick with us.
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