March 14, 2025
Secretary Marco Rubio said the tariffs imposed by the U.S. on countries should not be mischaracterized as a hostile move against U.S. allies, but as a way to reset the baseline of international trade, which President Donald Trump believes is unfair to the U.S., to equitable.
“It’s not a hostile move against Japan or any other nation,” the Secretary told reporters at a press conference on Friday at the G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Canada. “This is about balance, fairness and trade. The President wants to reset the baseline and once that baseline is reset then you can enter into bilateral negotiation with individual countries about changes that can be made to both sides that’s fair. That’s his goal.”
He added that if it the tariffs hike are done any other way, countries would not renegotiate their trade relationship with the US if the status quo is beneficial to them.
“Why would someone give up something that’s good for them? You have to make it fair and then negotiate out because the current state is not sustainable,” he quips.
The American top diplomat said next month when the reciprocal tariffs are set to go into effect, the plan is to use the results from the study Trump has ordered to decide the global reciprocal tariff.
Rubio said Trump decided to do things differently in his second term because the first tariffs he put in place during his first term included a lot of exemptions “that basically made them meaningless. This time, it’s about fairness in trade.”
Rubio also noted that the European Union, which has a comparable GDP and economy similar to the US, has a significant trade surplus with the US.
“These are not developing countries, these are developed countries, and yet they have a significant trade surplus with the US even though our countries are the same in our economies,” he argued. “That’s a problem. What the president is saying is we need to equalize the treatment while also protecting certain sectors.”
“if you’re a country or a EU that’s benefitting from the status quo, you feel it’s hostile to change the status quo because it is to your benefit. The problem is the US is looking out for the US both in national security and in economic relations. We would reset the basis of our trade relationship and then we can enter into a relationship that’s fair and that begins with resetting our trade relations and the amount we charge each other.”
Rubio also noted China- the U.S. top global competitor, is very culpable in engaging in unfair trade practices, noting it was discussed at the G-7 meeting.
“The G7’s statement reflects a growing acknowledgment that the Chinese government has pursued both economic and foreign policies that allow them to benefit from all the good things about the global order, but ignore all the responsibilities in ways that leave U.S. and the broader of the world on being overly dependent on China for supply chains, for rare earth minerals, and materials need for key technologies, noting that Europe for example, counteract Chinese overproductions dumping by imposing tariffs EV are being dumped into their economies so they imposed tariffs. Canada imposed tariffs on China as well.
