China trade war: Trump suggests farmers will benefit from tariffs
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President Trump told Fox News' "'The Next Revolution with Steve Hilton" he's "very happy" about the trade war with the Chinese — which he said prompted firms to move production out of China and in to other Asian countries.
Because I love the farmer, we are going to be taking in possibly $100 billion, possibly more than that in tariffs."
Why it matters: The trade war has been crippling for U.S. farmers. Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) told "Fox News Sunday" earlier the tariffs "are absolutely painful" for farmers, but if it meant striking a good deal with China, "we might look back and say this was worth the price we are paying."
- Trump's comments come days after he issued an executive order paving the way for a ban on the Chinese-owned Huawei. As a result, Google has stopped providing non-public hardware or software to Huawei — the second leading provider of Android devices.
The big picture: In his wide-ranging interview with Hilton, Trump said he's confident of striking a deal with China because "they’re getting killed with the tariffs." He said he told Chinese President Xi Jinping any agreement couldn't be 50-50 because of China's past trade practices.
- The president also attacked Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden for saying China's "not competition for us." He added Biden should "100%" be investigated for claims made in a 2018 book in which it's alleged the former vice president's son Hunter Biden took advantage of his father’s position to sign a business deal with the Bank of China.
- Trump told Hilton if Hillary Clinton had become president, "China would have been a much bigger economy than us by the end of her term — and now it’s not even going to be close."
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