Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Tuesday that President Trump’s tariff policies will be worth it, even if the economy ends up in a recession.
In an interview that aired Tuesday, CBS News’s Nancy Cordes asked Lutnick whether the tariffs will “be worth it if they lead to a recession, even a short-term recession.”
Lutnick responded: “These policies are the most important thing America has ever had.”
“So it is worth it?” Cordes pressed.
“It is worth it,” he said.
Lutnick quickly added: “The only reason there could possibly be a recession is because of the Biden nonsense that we had to live with.”
Lutnick has been a fierce defender of Trump’s approach to tariffs and said over the weekend that Americans should “absolutely not” be concerned about a possible recession.
In the latest interview, Lutnick doubled down on his support for the president’s tariff policies and insisted they are not chaotic.
“These policies produce revenues,” Lutnick said.
“So you’re saying when it looks chaotic and unpredictable from the outside that there actually is a master plan when it comes to these tariffs?” Cordes asked.
“It is not chaotic,” Lutnick said. “And the only one who thinks it’s chaotic is someone who’s being silly.”
On Tuesday, Trump threatened to double tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum imports in response to Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s plan to issue a retaliatory surcharge on electricity to a trio of states. Ford backed off, and Trump reversed course hours later, promising talks in Washington on Thursday about a renewal of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) before reciprocal tariffs go into effect early next month.
Lutnick defended Trump’s approach in the interview.
“He needed to break some guy in Ontario who said he was going to tax American energy 25 percent. The President of the United States, in the White House, says, ‘Oh no, you won’t,’ and breaks him. And you think that’s chaotic?” Lutnick said.
