In an interview with Time magazine, President Trump alleged, he’s made 200 deals on tariffs. CNN anchor John Berman noted, zero deals have been announced.
“I want to read you the exchange between Time magazine national political reporter Eric Cortellessa and the president,” Berman said.
“The president says, ‘I've made 200 deals,’” Berman read from Time Magazine. “[Time magazine national political reporter Eric] Cortellessa asks, ‘You've made 200 deals?’ The president says ‘100%’. Cortellessa asked, ‘Can you share with whom?’ And then the president says, ‘Because the deal is a deal that I choose, view it differently. We are a department store, and we set the price.’”
Illinois Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) joined CNN, noting, “I have zero information because I don't think there are any deals.”
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He added, “In fact, the other day he said that he's talking to the Chinese and the Chinese Communist Party basically said, we are not in any talks with Donald Trump. I mean, this is kind of a situation where I think his nose is lengthening by the day with regard to these tariffs.”
The Congressman spoke about the businesses he visited in the ‘Land of Lincoln’ who have been impacted, including a soybean farm. “[They are] facing retaliation by the Chinese and others. I went to a produce market where they're basically saying working families are going to pay 5 to 10% more for their fruits, flowers, and vegetables. This is a tax on working families, and I think that right now people are very, very upset.”
“One of the things the president has said in this interview is he would view it as a success if tariffs on China were still at 50% a year from now,” Berman said. “You have moved over the last several years to be tougher on China. What are the areas which you would be tougher in?”
“Well, I think that we should continue what the Biden administration did, following up on the first trump administration with regard to strategic tariffing, where the Chinese practice,” The congressman said. “For instance, dumping or other tools of economic aggression. Where they dump products at prices less than the cost of even producing them. So, glass, paper, steel, aluminum, solar panels, electric vehicles, those are areas where I think strategic tariffing makes sense. Level the playing field to make sure that our companies are able to compete.”
The Democrat then went on to criticize the tariffs Trump put on our allies. “However, if you impose blanket tariffs on everything, including from everywhere, whether they are friends, partners, or allies, or China, basically what you do is you just increase prices. It's a tax on working families, and now it's leading to potential layoffs, as well as a pause in hiring and investment. So we're headed toward a recession.”
Watch the full exchange below or click here.
- YouTubeyoutu.be
