WASHINGTON—Today, United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), a member of the Senate Appropriations, Banking, and Foreign Relations Committees and former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, joined Kudlow on Fox Business to discuss the Trump Administration’s trade negotiations with China.
Partial Transcript
Hagerty on the importance of holding China accountable to their end of the trade deal: “I remember being on the phone with you [Larry] during the 2018 G20 when Xi pledged to President [Donald] Trump and stopped fentanyl flowing in the United States. Of course, he didn’t do it. If you think about the $200 billion worth of goods they promised to buy from us in the phase one deal—you were there, you architected this—and they fell through on that too. So, there’s going to be a lot more proof required here. And I think [Treasury] Secretary [Scott] Bessent, Ambassador [Jamieson] Greer are going to be very focused on making certain that whatever the Chinese agreed to, that they’re going to be ascertainable goals, they’re going to be goals that have to be met. And I sure as hell wouldn’t be leading with any sort of forgiveness or easing until we see performance from China.”
Hagerty on the stark difference between the Biden Admin’s and Trump Admin’s posture towards China: “If you think about it, these partners [other nations] want to extend and deepen their economic relationships with us, Larry. And our economic relationship has to do with security as much as it does our economies and the stronger economic ties. I think the better the opportunity is for us to lock arms from an economic and national security standpoint, and China’s going to see the writing on the walls. They’re going to be left out here. And if you think about the high standard digital trade agreement that we negotiated with Japan in the last administration—you were part of that team—that’s precisely the type of agreement that China could never abide by, with companies like Huawei and contaminated systems like this. So, we are in a position right now like we’ve never been before. I couldn’t agree with you more, [Senator] Kevin [Cramer]. I think that Secretary Bessent and Ambassador Greer have a very strong hand to play as they walk into this. And I’ll just add one more thing, Larry: what a contrast compared to the previous administration that flew four cabinet secretaries over [to China]. Psilocybin mushrooms were on the menu just begging Xi to come to San Francisco for a meeting. Things have definitely changed under President Trump and for the good.”
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