Photo: Screenshot/White House YouTube channel
President Donald Trump has told major world economies that the United States is no more a “piggy bank that everybody is robbing” as he argued for fair trade with partners in a reciprocal way that does not harm America.
At the same, speaking in Quebec, Trump told a Press Conference at the summit of G-7 leaders that unacceptably high import tariffs on U.S. goods have to stop, although he said he believes in ultimately have free trade with countries.
The president spoke in the backdrop of his decision to impose duties on import of steel and aluminum tariffs, as part of his administration’s effort to fix the trade imbalance, which he says is due to policies of his White House predecessors. But, he said, he would safeguard American industries and called for a fair market access.
“I even said no tariffs. In other words, let’s say Canada — where we have tremendous tariffs — the United States pays tremendous tariffs on dairy. As an example, 270 percent. Nobody knows that. We pay nothing. We don’t want to pay anything. Why should we pay?” he argued in response to a question.
“We have to — ultimately, that’s what you want. You want a tariff-free, you want no barriers, and you want no subsidies, because you have some cases where countries are subsidizing industries, and that’s not fair. So you go tariff-free, you go barrier-free, you go subsidy-free. That’s the way you learned at the Wharton School of Finance. I mean, that would be the ultimate thing. Now, whether or not that works — but I did suggest it, and people were — I guess, they got to go back to the drawing and check it out, right?”
His Administration, Trump noted, has good relations with some longtime allies like Canada and France but made it clear that the White House would not compromise on the question of unfair trade practices harming American interests.
“But because of the fact that the United States leaders of the past didn’t do a good job on trade — and again, I’m not blaming countries; I’m blaming our people that represented our past.
“It’s got to change. It’s going to change. I mean, it’s not a question of “I hope it changes.”
“It’s going to change, a hundred percent. And tariffs are going to come way down, because people cannot continue to do that. We’re like the piggy bank that everybody is robbing. And that ends.”
On his June 12 meeting with North Korean leader in Singapore, Trump called it a peace mission but also saw it cautiously as an unknown territory.
The U.S. has been asking Pyongyang to roll back its nuclear weapons program, and Trump Kim Jong Un has this one-time opportunity to work for peace for his people.
“It’s unknown territory, in the truest sense. But I really feel confident. I feel that Kim Jong Un wants to do something great for his people, and he has that opportunity. And he won’t have that opportunity again. It’s never going to be there again.
“ So I really believe that he’s going to do something very positive for his people, for himself, his family. He’s got an opportunity, the likes of which I think almost — if you look into history — very few people have ever had. He can take that nation, with those great people, and truly make it great. So it’s a one-time — it’s a one-time shot. And I think it’s going to work out very well.
“That’s why I feel positive, because it makes so much sense. And we will watch over, and we’ll protect, and we’ll do a lot of things. I can say that South Korea, Japan, China, many countries want to see it happen. And they’ll help. They’ll all help. So there’s a great — there’s really — this is a great time. This has not happened in all of the years that they’ve been separated by a very artificial boundary. This is a great opportunity for peace, and lasting peace, and prosperity”.
