GOP Senator Flummoxed By Trump Adviser's Response To Tariff Question
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
A Republican senator was stumped on Wednesday when Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said the U.S. would not lift tariffs on another country even if that country agreed to a reciprocal trade deal with the U.S.
Why It Matters
Lutnick's response appeared to fly in the face of President Donald Trump's claim that the U.S. is seeking trade "reciprocity" with its partners around the world.
Trump has repeatedly accused other countries, including some of the U.S.'s closest trading partners, of taking advantage of the U.S. and in April levied steep tariffs against almost every country around the world in an effort to renegotiate more balanced trading relationships.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, left, speaks, as President Donald Trump, right, and Vice President JD Vance, center, listening as a trade deal with United Kingdom in announced in the Oval Office of the White House,...
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, left, speaks, as President Donald Trump, right, and Vice President JD Vance, center, listening as a trade deal with United Kingdom in announced in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Washington. More
Evan Vucci/AP
What To Know
Lutnick got into a back-and-forth with Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana on Wednesday while testifying on Capitol Hill.
Kennedy asked Lutnick if the U.S. would accept a zero-to-zero trade deal with Vietnam, saying, "If Vietnam, for example, came to you tomorrow and said, 'Okay, Mr. Secretary, you win, we're going to remove all tariffs and all trade barriers.' Would the United States please do the same? Would you accept that deal?"
"Absolutely not," Lutnick said while smirking. "Absolutely not. That would be the silliest thing we could do."
"Why is that?" Kennedy asked.
"Vietnam has $125 billion of exports to us and imports from us $12.5 million ... Where do they get it from? They buy 90 billion [dollars worth] from China, then they mark it up and send it to us. It's just a pathway of China to us," Lutnick said.
"So you wouldn't accept that deal?" Kennedy pressed.
"It's a terrible deal," Lutnick replied. "We're the ones with money, we're the one with the stores. Of course, they want us to take it down."
"What's the purpose of reciprocity then?" Kennedy shot back. "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?"
Lutnick began to say the U.S. wants to "encourage" Vietnam to produce more, but Kennedy cut him off, saying, "I want to get back to reciprocity."
"You just said you don't ... accept reciprocity as a goal. What are you negotiating in these trade deals?"
Lutnick pushed back: "Why would we open our bank account—"
"But why are you negotiating trade deals?" Kennedy said, speaking over him. "You're trying to get other countries to lower their tariffs and trade barriers in return for us lowering ours. That's called reciprocity."
"Of course," Lutnick said.
"So are you or are you not seeking reciprocity in these trade deals?" Kennedy pressed.
"We are absolutely seeking reciprocity with respect to things that can be reciprocal, but when you're importing from China and sending it to us, they're not—" Lutnick said, before Kennedy again cut him off.
"But you just said that if a country came to you and offered you the ultimate reciprocity—no tariffs, no trade barriers, in return for us doing the same—you would reject that?" the Louisiana Republican said.
"Of course, because they buy from China and send it to us," Lutnick said. Kennedy asked him how the U.S. would respond if a trade partner pledged that they wouldn't buy products from China and resell them to the U.S., to which Lutnick replied, "Now we're talking."
"Would you accept that deal?" Kennedy said.
"We would consider it," Lutnick said.
This story is developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Update 06/04/25 2:40 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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