Transcript: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on

The next is the transcript of an interview with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on April 6, 2025.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Mr. Secretary, welcome to “Face the Nation.”

COMMERCE SECRETARY HOWARD LUTNICK: Nice to be right here.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We see about 60% of Individuals have cash within the inventory market, which imply that retirees may very well be simply as involved as hedge fund managers this morning. Did you anticipate this stage of shock within the monetary markets?

SEC. LUTNICK: Effectively, you have to notice it is a nationwide safety challenge. I imply, we do not make drugs on this nation anymore. We do not make ships. We do not have sufficient metal and aluminum to combat a battle, proper? All our semiconductors are made abroad. So each button we press once we attempt to begin our automobile and even use our microwave, these are all semiconductors. They’re all made elsewhere. We have got to begin to defend ourselves, and we have to cease having all of the nations of the world ripping us off. We now have a $1.2 trillion commerce deficit, and the remainder of the world has a surplus with us. They’re incomes our cash. They’re taking our cash, and Donald Trump has seen this, and he’ll cease it. So it’ll be an enormous change. In fact, it is going to be an enormous change, however the remainder of the world has been ripping us off for all these a few years. Donald Trump has seen it. He is spoken about it–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –I perceive that and–

SEC. LUTNICK: –and he is simply not going to take it anymore. And that is his mannequin.

MARGARET BRENNAN: And that was abundantly clear throughout the presidential marketing campaign, how a lot the president really believes in tariffs and placing them on the heart of his financial coverage, however you noticed absolute panic within the world markets. Did you anticipate that or have been you stunned?

SEC. LUTNICK: No, I feel the purpose is, you want to reset the facility of america of America and reset it in opposition to all our allies and our enemies alike. The- the concept all of the nations of the world can run commerce surpluses with America and purchase our issues with us– keep in mind, $1.2 trillion. in 1980 we have been a internet investor- which means we owned extra of the remainder of the world than they owned of us–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah, it is a totally different world now, it is a totally different market.

SEC. LUTNICK: And now- and now they personal 18- they personal $18 trillion of us, internet. So which means the remainder of the- yearly once we run a $1.2 trillion deficit, the remainder of the world buys $1.2 trillion of America, and it goes up and up and up. And finally we’re not going to personal America, and we’re going to be owned by the remainder of the world.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Are you speaking about–

SEC. LUTNICK: Think about if we had a battle and we will not construct a ship, we will not fly a aircraft. We will not construct our personal planes–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay–

SEC. LUTNICK: –we haven’t got our personal semiconductors. That is what the President is right here to repair for America. It is- he- in his arms, and he desires to repair America. That is his chance–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Understood. So–

SEC. LUTNICK: –to repair America, and we want him to repair it for our youngsters and our grandchildren.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, however for- for companies to do what you are doing, as a result of what I hear you laying out there’s a plan to re-industrialize america and to convey corporations again to America. For a CEO to decide on to invest–

SEC. LUTNICK: Effectively mentioned. Effectively mentioned.

MARGARET BRENNAN: –but for a CEO to make these decisions- this- they want certainty. They should know if it prices them extra to remain abroad, or if it prices them extra to maneuver right here. So are you able to give them readability, in order that they do not simply reduce jobs as a result of they’re coping with the price of these tariff- tariffs. Are you able to inform them how lengthy they’re staying in place?

SEC. LUTNICK: Completely. America of America goes to guard the individuals who spend money on America. Trillions and trillions of dollars- you heard the President discuss it- are coming to spend money on America. That is the financial system of the world. We’re the buyer of the world, and firms must construct it right here, and we are going to defend them for constructing it right here.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, so–

SEC. LUTNICK: We’ll assist the American employees, sure. American employees are costlier, however they’re higher.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I obtained it–

SEC. LUTNICK: We’ll defend all of the factories that come to America, and that is what’s coming right here. So, the President is on it–

(CROSSTALK)

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, is the ten% tariff everlasting?

SEC. LUTNICK: He will defend them- effectively, keep in mind, it is a nationwide safety issue–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –I obtained it. Is the ten% tariff everlasting?

SEC. LUTNICK: –and he wants to deal with our funds deficit- that- the, , the legal guidelines of America are the legal guidelines of America, he would love it to be that we have to defend the businesses that make investments right here, and we’re going to defend the businesses that make investments right here. That’s the coverage of america of America. That is why trillions of {dollars} are coming right here. The rip off of the- of america of America is over. All these corporations are going to return and make investments right here. That is what they’re doing. That is why they’ve dedicated trillions of {dollars}. They know that is the economy–

MARGARET BRENNAN: – Okay, Mr. Secretary, though–

SEC. LUTNICK: –this is the place to go.

(END CROSSTALK)

MARGARET BRENNAN: Mr. Secretary, the marketing campaign’s over. You gained. So I am asking what the plan is. So the treasury secretary mentioned on one other community, “we will maintain the course.” “It isn’t the sort of factor you possibly can negotiate away in days or even weeks.” That makes it sound just like the tariffs are staying in place no less than for days or even weeks. Is that appropriate? Or is the President contemplating suspending implementation to barter?

SEC. LUTNICK: There isn’t any suspending. They’re undoubtedly going to remain in place for days and weeks. That’s form of apparent. The president must reset world commerce. All people has a commerce surplus and now we have a commerce deficit. We’re paying away our future and our lives. Come- the nations of the world are ripping us off, and it is obtained to finish. The President has made it crystal, crystal clear. That is the coverage we will defend. The factories that come construct in America,  we will defend them. They are going to achieve success. That is why they’ll construct in America, the best financial system within the earth. All of those corporations are going to return and construct right here.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So when three of the President’s different financial advisers, who’re on different networks at this time, say that fifty totally different nations have been calling the White Home to attempt to speak concerning the tariffs, what does that imply? As a result of that makes it sound like there’s a negotiation, which is totally different from saying the tariffs are everlasting.

SEC. LUTNICK: Effectively, what it reveals is that each one these nations know that they have been ripping us off, and the day has come for that to finish. Now the issue is, it isn’t simply tariffs- like, I am going to offer you an instance, like Vietnam mentioned they’d wish to be zero-zero. Bear in mind, Vietnam sends us $120 billion price of products each year–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Sure, low-cost manufacturing

SEC. LUTNICK: And we ship them about $12 billion- wait, we ship them $12 billion. So it isn’t the tariffs. It has nothing to do with tariffs. In the event that they went to zero-zero, they might go to 200 billion with us. We have to cease the rip off, and zero-zero is- is the way–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –I do know however we do not have zero-zero, sir.

SEC. LUTNICK: –to make it extra of a rip off. We’d like–

MARGARET BRENNAN: We do not have zero-zero really, as a result of once we noticed the president stand within the Rose Backyard holding up that chart that you simply helped make, that- that wasn’t really tariffs. That was really complicated to buyers, as a result of it was some sort of different components, and the nations themselves appeared sort of random. Like, why are the Heard and McDonald Islands, which do not export to america and are fairly actually inhabited by penguins, why do they face a ten% tariff? Did you utilize AI to generate this?

SEC. LUTNICK: No. No, the idea- look, the concept is that there aren’t any nations left off.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Why are they on the record?

SEC. LUTNICK: As a result of the idea- what occurs is, in case you go away something off the record, the nations that attempt to mainly arbitrage America undergo these nations to us. Any country- like we had tariffs, the President put tariffs on China, proper, in 2018, after which what China began doing is that they began going by way of different nations to America. They simply constructed by way of different nations, by way of America. And so, the President is aware of that, he is bored with it, and he’ll repair that. So mainly he mentioned, look, I can not let any a part of the world be a spot the place China or different nations can ship by way of them–

MARGARET BRENNAN: By means of the Heard Islands.

SEC. LUTNICK: –so the tip of these loopholes- these ridiculous loopholes. And now what he is attempting to say is, I’ll repair the commerce deficit of america of America. It is a nationwide safety challenge. We have to make drugs. We have to make semiconductors. We have to make ships. We have to have metal and aluminum. Come on, we want the greatness of America to really be in-built America. And he is bored with getting ripped off by the remainder of the world.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, however simply to be clear, April 9, the so-called retaliatory tariffs- the reciprocal tariffs, I ought to say. Are these coming or are they open to negotiation?

SEC. LUTNICK: The tariffs are coming. He introduced it, and he wasn’t kidding. The tariffs are coming. In fact they’re.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay. Is the administration contemplating any sort of offset, any sort of subsidy? You talked about the primary administration, there was some bailout to farmers to assist them cope with the ache from Chinese language retaliation. Are you taking a look at that now?

SEC. LUTNICK: I am- not that I’ve- I’ve not participated in any conferences with respect to that. The nation is targeted on- you notice, trillions of {dollars} of factories are going to be in-built America. That is large GDP. The factories being in-built America are large GDP–

(BEGIN CROSSTALK)

MARGARET BRENNAN: That takes years–

SEC. LUTNICK: And that’s going to matter to us.

MARGARET BRENNAN: And also you mentioned that robots are going to fill these jobs. So these aren’t union employee jobs.

SEC. LUTNICK: No, it is actually automated jobs. It is automated factories- automated factories. However the hot button is, who’s going to construct the factories? Who’s going to function the factories? Who’s going to make them work? Nice American employees. You recognize, we’re going to replace–

MARGARET BRENNAN: You mentioned robots on different networks. You mentioned that to FOX.

SEC. LUTNICK: –the armies of tens of millions of people- effectively, keep in mind, the military of tens of millions and tens of millions of human beings screwing in little- little screws to make iPhones, that sort of factor goes to return to America. It will be automated and nice Individuals- the tradecraft of America, goes to repair them, goes to work on them. They are going to be mechanics. There’s going to be HVAC specialists. There’s going to be electricians, the tradecraft of America. Our highschool educated Individuals- the core to our workforce, goes to have the best resurgence of jobs within the historical past of America to work on these high-tech factories, that are all coming to America. That is what is going on to construct our subsequent era of America.

(END CROSSTALK)

MARGARET BRENNAN: Are you involved, within the time it can take for a corporation to maneuver to America, that it’s going to profit China in the- within the fast time period, that different markets will look to different suppliers as a substitute of coping with america?

SEC. LUTNICK: That’s ridiculous. The issue is, everybody on this planet sells to us. Our financial system is the buyer of the world. We’re the one one with a commerce deficit. The remainder of the world has a commerce surplus. Why does Europe have a commerce surplus? Is there one thing about Europe that is particular? Significantly, are they a special world than we’re? Why are they promoting 200 billion a year–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Oh, Mr. Secretary.

SEC. LUTNICK: –more to us. It is as a result of it isn’t honest. The principles are made not honest, and President Trump goes to repair them, and he is doing it for America, and he is doing it on your kids and mine and our grandchildren. That is the second that america of America takes maintain of itself, and Donald Trump’s been speaking about this his complete life. That is Donald Trump’s agenda, and we’re all right here to assist him execute it.

MARGARET BRENNAN: And we are going to take him at his phrase, fairly actually. Thanks, Mr. Secretary, on your time this morning. “Face the Nation” can be again in a minute. Stick with us.