Source: Blog – Alliance for American Manufacturing
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 29: Howard Lutnick, U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee for Commerce Secretary, speaks during his Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation confirmation hearing in the Russell Senate Office Building on January 29, 2025 in Washington, DC. Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images
Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick said the United States has been treated horrifically in the global market.
Commerce Secretary nominee Howard Lutnick advocated for “across the board” tariffs during his Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday, calling for respect and reciprocity in U.S. trade relationships.
“My way of thinking, and I’ve discussed this with the president, is country-by-country macro [tariffs]. Let America make it more fair,” Lutnick said. “We are treated horribly by the global trading environment. They all have higher tariffs, non-tariff trade barriers and subsidies.”
Lutnick called for the highest tariffs to be applied to Chinese imports in recognition of America’s adversarial relationship with Beijing.
“How you treat us is how you expect to be treated by us,” Lutnick said. “I think we have let [China] off the hook for far too long. They have treated us horrifically in China, and yet we let them ride roughshod with us here. That needs to end.”
As an Economic Policy Institute report found, China’s entrance into the World Trade Organization cost the U.S. 3.7 million jobs between 2001 and 2018 alone. Of those jobs lost, three-fourths were in manufacturing, a critical pathway for non-college-educated adults to enter the middle class.
“I take a very jaundiced view of China,” Lutnick said when asked how he will respond to China’s threats to U.S. economic success. “I think they only care about themselves and seek to harm us, so we need to protect ourselves. We need to drive our innovation, and we need to stop helping them.”
The U.S.-China technology competition has recently been in the news cycle as Chinese artificial intelligence app DeepSeek demonstrated unexpected competence despite U.S. export controls on next-generation computer chips.
“[Macro tariffs] will assist us in bringing supply chains home. We need those supply chains here,” Lutnick said. “It is vital for our interest in semiconductors. It’s vital for pharmaceuticals. We’ve allowed our adversaries to take advantage of us and even our allies to take advantage of us.”
Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) recognized tariffs as a “powerful and positive tool,” but cautioned that “they need to be used strategically.” Peters pointed to his call for 100% tariffs on Chinese vehicles last year and his sustained “fight for aggressive trade policy when it comes to our relations with China.” He indicated his willingness to work with the Trump administration “to make sure we’re growing [manufacturing] as well as creating good paying jobs that results from manufacturing.”
Several members of the committee also asked Lutnick to affirm his support for the continuation of programs funded by the CHIPS and Science Act. The bipartisan law was enacted in 2022 with the aim of boosting domestic semiconductor research and manufacturing with nearly $53 billion worth of funding, which is still being distributed.
Lutnick voiced his support for CHIPS investments, saying that they are “an excellent downpayment to bring semiconductor manufacturing back to America,” though he could not immediately commit to supporting a sequel to the bill to add funding as some lawmakers have proposed. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) echoed appreciation for the program’s efficacy, saying, “Manufacturing is growing in my state, and I’m telling you CHIPS and Science is part of it. And we didn’t get billions like some other states.”
On Jan. 20, President Donald Trump ordered the Commerce Department, along with the Treasury Department and the United States Trade Representative, to recommend measures, such as global supplemental tariffs, to address the ballooning U.S. trade deficit in his Day One trade memo. The report’s results are due in April.
Lutnick differentiated macro tariffs from proposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico that are slated to begin on Feb. 1, which he characterized as “an action of domestic policy” to stop the flow of fentanyl across U.S. borders.
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