'Cut The Deal For Us!': Haley Stevens Demands New Tariff Policies From Trump Admin. To Help Michigan

Forbes Breaking News

During a House CCP Committee hearing before the Congressional recess, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) asked former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and former U.S. ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel about policies that attack China and defend U.S. industry.

Transcript

00:00So, I come from Michigan, the industrial Midwest, the heartbeat arguably of our manufacturing

00:11sector and we have been dealing with the China consideration and the coercion consideration

00:18since before the great recession really woke a lot of people up.

00:23The illegal dumping, the currency manipulation, the challenges to our automotive industry.

00:31And I came into this hearing with, you know, questions about minerals because after a year

00:38and a half I've written this bill called Unearth America's Future Act.

00:42It's the CHIPS Act for Minerals.

00:44Mr. Prime Minister, we talked extensively to Mr. Rudd about this legislation, Ambassador

00:52Emanuel, I'd also love to talk to you about this.

00:54It is entirely comprehensive and it is a framework for how we can compete in the 21st century,

01:02the mid-21st century mark.

01:04I mean, we can and love to go back into history and look at this, but yes, we need to look

01:10the present in the face and the future that we're heading towards.

01:14What does this world look like in 2050 and who is leading the industrial rules-based order?

01:21My presumption on this and my charge as a federal lawmaker is to bolster the U.S. alongside our

01:29allies to achieve that goal for technology dominance, for industrial dominance, and any

01:36sort of trappings in terms of how governance structures can continue to bolster capital markets.

01:45But this kind of came out with Brown and her question, and Ram, you got to this, and I want

01:51to dig on it a little bit further.

01:54How do we reverse the trajectory here?

01:59How do we, and we're hearing a lot about the allies and that we need to work with others

02:06in the Indo-Pacific and ranking member, I appreciated your graphic, but how do we push back effectively

02:15and strategically?

02:16And can we continue to do things like AUKUS that is a great framework for us here in the

02:25United States of America and with our allies for technology development?

02:29And is there a vision or a path for us to do things like AUKUS, and when you were ambassador,

02:34I thought, well, maybe we can do JAUKUS.

02:37Maybe we can tie in and work more aggressively with our allies outside some of the constraints

02:43of trade relationships.

02:46So it's nice to talk about onshoring and reshoring.

02:50I know how to do it, and I think we've got a plan to do it.

02:54My bill is loan guarantees, tax credits, and an R&D center of excellence.

03:00Again, CHIPS Act for Minerals, because we can't do 85% to 95% processed over there.

03:07But can we just dig a little bit further while we're all still in the room and hearing all

03:11your fascinating responses about how we achieve this goal about 2050?

03:16And Mr. Prime Minister, if you'd like to start, that'd be great, too.

03:19Well, thank you, and thank you for the question.

03:21I'd start by saying a strong America is critical for that.

03:26I mean, allies and partners, yes, absolutely, and I think we've been saying that all morning

03:31and as the questioners as well.

03:34But for the allies and partners network to work, there has to be a strong core, and that

03:37requires a strong America, and an America with a strong industrial base in particular.

03:41One of the greatest successes the United States has had through allies and partners has been

03:46their sort of global security initiatives, whether it be in the Indo-Pacific, NATO, or elsewhere.

03:51And applying that same discipline of those networks into the economic sphere is critical to achieve

03:59that.

04:00But it doesn't work unless the United States itself maintains its leadership and keeps

04:06striking distance on these core things that are necessary.

04:10So I would agree with you.

04:11And what's frustrating from the Michigan perspective, sir, is we have a current administration,

04:1755 tariff announcements in 100 days.

04:19I appreciate how bipartisan and thoughtful we are here.

04:23But we've got billions of dollars of losses now coming out of our big three.

04:28We have the second fastest growing unemployment in the nation, in Michigan.

04:32You know, thank you, erratic tariff policies and all the hiring freezes.

04:37And this is not to get overly partisan.

04:39Cut the deal for Michigan.

04:41Cut the deal for Michigan.

04:42I'm not yelling at you about that.

04:43But that's what we need right here.

04:46I don't, I don't need, yes, I get what's going on with China and they hoard and we give

04:51them everything with the minerals that go into materials and that's rising costs on us.

04:57Cut the deal for us, right?

04:59Rom, did you want to chime in?

05:01It, Congresswoman, I would say, look, the past is a bit of a prologue here.

05:08There are three periods of great economic growth in America.

05:12One is after Civil War, one is the beginning of the 20th century, and one is after, at the

05:18end of World War II.

05:20What do all three have in common?

05:22Investing in America and Americans.

05:25Take education, land-grant colleges under Abraham Lincoln, universal high school education

05:30at the beginning of the 20th century, and the GI Bill, where education plank educated and

05:35trained a generation of Americans.

05:38You invest in Americans, there's nothing China's doing that's going to scare me.

05:43You invest in America, our research universities, our roads, our bridges, our technology.

05:48You dominate the rules of AI, quantum computing, biotech.

05:52There's a story just the other day.

05:54We're now, our major pharmaceutical companies, are now becoming more and more dependent on

05:59China's biotech sector.

06:01That used to be our play.

06:03If we don't invest in it, we're going to lose it.

06:06The one thing we know, you don't invest in it, lose it.

06:10And so to me, Michigan's fate is kind of a canary in the coal mine to the rest of us,

06:15in the same way that happened on the Ford plant in the south side of the city of Chicago.

06:20Actually, that plant, I don't mean to do this, exports to more markets around the world than

06:25any other plant in the Ford family here in the United States.

06:29You invest in it, Beijing, we're coming after you.

06:34There's nothing America can't do if you invest in both the American people and the

06:40American economy.

06:42The fundamentals of the public sector are in the rule of law, our research universities

06:48and our R&D capacity, and our ability to take risks, and the capabilities of both the brains

06:55and the bronze that make up this country.

06:57And I want to emphasize what the Prime Minister said.

07:01You can have all the coalition, and I'm for it, but there's only one quarterback.

07:09We proved that in Europe, we're proving that in the Indo-Pacific, and we can call the play.

07:15And I don't mean, I know Australia is a very important friend and ally, but I think he

07:18would emphasize that without the United States, there's a lot of independent countries.

07:22With the United States, you've got a team.

07:24I yield back, Mr. Chair.

07:27Thank you so much.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended