Fox Business host Stuart Varney pushed back on Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick after the Trump administration official claimed that tariffs do not cause inflation.
During a Wednesday interview on Fox Business, Varney asked President Donald Trump's commerce secretary about the 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports.
"The price of aluminum and steel and copper has already started to rise," Varney noted. "That could ripple through the entire manufacturing sector and raise the level of inflation."
"Could it bring on a recession?" the host wondered.
"Let's take a step back and remember inflation, right?" Lutnick replied. "Inflation comes from a government printing too much money."
"You don't get inflation from having a tariff because what a tariff says is if it's made in Europe, if it's made foreign, it costs, it might cost a little more," he continued. "But that which is made in America does not cost more."
"Domestic producers can't keep up with demand," Varney shot back. "The supply is limited. Demand is strong. The price is going up."
ALSO READ: 'Absolutely unconscionable': Ex-Republican demands Trump removed from office after fight
"Some foreign steel will go up for sure," Lutnick admitted. "But then they will build those plants in America."
"So this concept that, oh, prices are going to rise," he added. "You got to remember, President Trump is playing for the strength of America."
