John Kennedy Appears Baffled By Howard Lutnick’s Answer On Tariffs

Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy appeared baffled on Wednesday by Cabinet Secretary Howard Lutnick’s responses regarding tariffs and trade barriers during a hearing on commerce.

Lutnick told Kennedy that he would “absolutely not” accept a deal where a nation offered to remove all tariffs and trade barriers on U.S. imports, leading Kennedy to ask what the purpose of reciprocity is with the current tariffs in place. The commerce secretary said that a country like Vietnam would buy from China and export to the U.S. if there were no tariffs or trade barriers.

“If Vietnam came to you tomorrow and said ‘okay, Mr. Secretary, you win. We’re gonna remove all tariffs and all trade barriers. Would the United States please do the same?’ Would you accept that deal?’” Kennedy asked.

“Absolutely not. That would be the silliest thing we could do. Vietnam has a $125 billion export to us and imports for us, $12.5 million. And you’re thinking, Vietnam exports $125 billion?” Lutnick began. “But where do they get it from? They buy $90 billion from China and then they mark it up and send it to us. So it’s just a pathway from China to us.”

When Kennedy asked the secretary to confirm whether he would take the dead, Lutnick responded “No! It’s a terrible deal. We’re the one with the money, we’re the one with the store. Of course they want us to take down .”

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Lutnick then struggled to answer Kennedy’s question on the purpose of reciprocity between the U.S. and other nations.

“What is the purpose of reciprocity, then? Is reciprocity not one of your goals? Are you telling the president that we shouldn’t seek reciprocity? If that’s what you’re telling him, why are you trying to do these trade deals?” Kennedy asked.

“What do we want? We want to encourage Vietnam to produce great products. They’re great at producing,” Lutnick began.