Secretary of State Marco Rubio joined CBS News' Margaret Brennan on Sunday's “Face the Nation” and was pressed to see what President Trump's tariff plans mean.
“Is there any risk that China will ultimately become the winner?” Brennan asked about the trade war. “If it's too expensive to deal with the US, wouldn't they benefit?”
“Well, in fact, China and Canada are currently involved in a mini-trade war,” replied Rubio.
He argued that Trump's tariffs are a way for the United States to gain international economic status after facilitating other countries over the past decades.
“For 30 or 40 years, we have been an ally of the Cold War and have been allowing us to unfairly treat us in world trade because we wanted them to be rich and prosperous,” Rubio said. “But now, that has to be changed.”
Trump's tariff plans are affecting the country's closest neighbors, as Canada and Mexico suffered 25% tariffs. The plan has been criticised as concerns are growing about worsening relations with allies. Rubio tried to dispel these concerns, as Trump tried last week.
“This is global. It's not against Canada… it's not against Mexico, it's not against the EU, it's everyone,” he said.
Rubio said the US would engage in negotiations on a new trade agreement if there was a baseline level of fairness and interaction.
“So, is this all leverage to get bilateral rather than North American free trade transactions?” asked Brennan.
“That's fair. We're resetting our baseline,” Rubio said. “And from there we can work on details and more.”
