Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick didn’t mince words on Fox News Friday when asked about President Donald Trump’s approach to tariffs on Chinese imports.
Top Trump officials will meet Chinese leaders in Switzerland this weekend as new U.S. tariffs begin to pressure China’s economy. During an appearance on “The Ingraham Angle,” Lutnick laid out what he described as Trump’s firm negotiating position on trade with China.
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“The president is going to keep significant tariffs on trade with China. That is his objective. That’s his expectation. That should be everybody’s expectation. But 145% is decoupling. Let’s not do business with each other,” Lutnick told host Laura Ingraham.
That 145% figure, Lutnick said, is not the norm Trump envisions, but the upper limit.
“Let’s bring it down to a level that he studied and he knows, right. Where did we come out with on Liberation Day? [A sum of] 34% is where it came out on Liberation Day. That’s the studied number that Donald Trump did then. He may put it up higher, but that’s kind of the idea, 34% Liberation Day, 20% for the fentanyl. If they stop doing the fentanyl, that’ll come off, but we can’t live with fentanyl ingredients coming to America,” Lutnick said. “So I think that’s the number that he published on Liberation Day, and that’s the number you should look at. And somewhere around there, maybe a little higher, maybe a little lower, Donald Trump will make the deal with the Chinese to de-escalate.”
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When asked whether a breakthrough in talks might lead to a complete pause in the current tariffs, Lutnick didn’t flinch.
“No chance. No chance. No way. No way,” Lutnick said.
Trump’s 145% tariff dealt a major blow to China’s economy, slashing U.S.-bound shipments by 60% and dragging export orders to their lowest since 2022. The shock rippled through China’s banks, services sector, and manufacturing base, which relies on U.S. sales for over 20% of its total exports.
With the crisis escalating, China’s central bank rushed to stabilize the economy just days ahead of the talks. On Wednesday, it slashed interest rates, lowered reserve requirements, and eased mortgage rules to rescue a faltering housing market and support struggling exporters.
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First published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
