During a Senate hearing, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick surprised Senator John Kennedy when he refused to agree to eliminate U.S. tariffs if Vietnam removed its barriers. Lutnick asserted that such a deal would be unwise, suggesting it would benefit Vietnam by making them a conduit for Chinese goods to the U.S. He emphasized the need for the U.S. to encourage local production rather than pursue reciprocity in trade negotiations, despite Kennedy's push for the importance of reciprocity in trade policy.
What do we want? We want to encourage Vietnam to produce products. They're great at producing.
Absolutely not. Absolutely not, Lutnick replied. That would be the silliest thing we could do.
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