China trade war: Trump suggests farmers will benefit from tariffs
Published Date: 5/20/2019
Source: axios.com
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."Go deeper:Trump administration has paid farmers $8.52 billion in aid to offset trade warBehind the scenes of Trump's Joe Biden obsessionBiden on China: "They're not competition for us"