Fmr. Nucor CEO: U.S. Has Been in Trade War With China For 20 Years
Donald Trump touted lower taxes and he doubled down on renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement [NAFTA] as he unveiled his economic plan on Monday in Detroit.
Despite being the party’s nominee, some members of the GOP still aren’t on board with Trump’s stance on trade. However former Nucor CEO and a Trump campaign trade advisor, Dan DiMicco, said the plan is on point during an interview on the FOX Business Network.
“His speech today was one that really put forward a vision for us becoming a more globally competitive country when it comes to doing business with the world,” he said. “And the four areas he highlighted—all of them have equal importance. Taxes, trade, regulation and with respect to energy.”
Previously, Trump announced a four-point plan regarding trade with China, calling the country a “currency manipulator.”
“We’ve been in a trade war with China for 20 years. Except, there’s been an undeclared trade war where China has declared war on us and we have not responded. During that period of time our GDP has suffered, probably on average 2% less than it would have been. We’ve not had the formation of 20 million jobs that would’ve happened. And the massive trade cheating has to stop,” DiMicco said, adding, “free trade only works if people play by the rules.”
The former Nucor CEO said trade is one area that is most important to Trump, especially during his bid for the White House.
“This is something he’s passionate about and it’s not a Johnny come lately type of thing.”