Kevin O’Leary Explains What Leverage US Has Getting China To Back Down On Tariffs
“Shark Tank” co-star Kevin O’Leary said on Fox Business Thursday that the United States holds massive economic leverage over China and now is the time to use it. The White House said Wednesday that tariffs on China will…
“Shark Tank” co-star Kevin O’Leary said on Fox Business Thursday that the United States holds massive economic leverage over China and now is the time to use it.
The White House said Wednesday that tariffs on China will only be reduced through negotiations, despite President Donald Trump signaling a potential easing. During an appearance on “The Evening Edit,” O’Leary said that the U.S. should exploit its dominant consumer market to pressure China into complying with fair trade practices, enforcing intellectual property rules, and ending one-sided advantages that have persisted for years.
“Millions of people working in factories making stuff that aren’t going to a market. The largest market on earth is the U.S. Xi does not have to face an election. Trump does midterms, less than two years away,” O’Leary told host Elizabeth MacDonald. “So this is going to get resolved relatively quickly. He has to face every day a Chinese worker sitting there that’s making something and has got to sell it to somebody. The market’s not big enough if the U.S. is not buying this stuff.”
While acknowledging his admiration for the Chinese people and his desire to sell in China, O’Leary took direct aim at what he said were the Chinese government’s tactics.
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“I love the Chinese people. I want to do business there. But the government, there is a negotiation going on here. It’s a dance. We’re starting the dance. I don’t care how the sausage is made. I’m one of those guys that are saying, ‘Let’s solve everything, not just tariffs to China,’” O’Leary said. “China’s a different story than the rest of the world. I get what’s going on in Europe and in U.K. and in Switzerland and India. I got it. I don’t care about that. I want to solve the big kahuna problem, not just tariffs to China.”
O’Leary also listed core issues the U.S. must bring to the negotiating table, including forced IP transfers, unequal market access, and regulatory double standards.