Oklahoma Governor 'Reluctant' to Host Chinese Ventures

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00:00Of course, the National Governors Association represents state executives in global conversations

00:04in labor, supply chains as well. Governors, it is great to see you. Talk to us first about what

00:12you're seeing in your state in terms of perhaps the tariffs and how ranchers and farmers are

00:19feeling about it. Do they want to see lower tariffs? Do they think they're benefiting from

00:24that? Well, thanks. First off, it's great to be in Singapore with you guys. Excited to be here.

00:30You know, I think that, you know, what Trump's doing on the tariffs front, it's really opening

00:35the conversation and pushing manufacturing back to the U.S. So I think Oklahomans are generally

00:39very excited about that. We are starting to get a lot of looks and more manufacturing,

00:44more companies internationally looking to move to Oklahoma. So that's exciting. We can talk about

00:48that. But obviously, his just move to lower the tariffs on imports of foods, I think hopefully

00:55that will lower some of the inflationary pressure on our on our food costs, which is very helpful.

01:01But, you know, there's always a give and take because then we've got producers for our we produce

01:07a lot of beef in Oklahoma. So there's always there's always a yin and a yang to all those

01:12conversations. The recent jobs report, though, doesn't necessarily show more manufacturing jobs.

01:16Well, in Oklahoma, we just I was just meeting with a with a gentleman here and we just were

01:22talking about a new company in Oklahoma called American Lion, which is a recycling battery company

01:28that's relocated to Oklahoma. And they basically take the black mass and extract all the critical

01:34minerals out of that. So those are the kind of things we're looking at. And because of our energy

01:38cost, we have the most affordable energy in the country in Oklahoma. So we just landed a new

01:43aluminum plant from the UAE that's going to be building in Oklahoma as well. And so I think some

01:48of the conversations from Trump tariffs are also pushing people to think about manufacturing again

01:54in the U.S. to open up those markets. Talk to us about how energy policy has been prioritized and

02:00oil and gas being big in Oklahoma. Right. So what extent are you seeing that actually playing out

02:06already in that industry? You know, when I think about first off, I've met with probably 80

02:11different ambassadors. They always talk about energy. Energy is such a huge issue for all of us

02:16around the world. And in Oklahoma, we believe in all of the above, meaning we have we love our oil

02:21and gas. But what people don't realize as well is we're number four in the country in electricity

02:27generated by wind. So we just believe that you should get government out of the way and let

02:32businesses go innovate and meet the needs of Americans. And because of that, Oklahoma has the most

02:37affordable electricity of any other state. And that's driving people to our state. So I just also

02:43passed behind the meter, which allows a private company to actually sign a contract with our gas

02:49pipelines and put your own electric turbine and create your own electricity for your own AI factor

02:56or your own data center, your own manufacturing facility. So that's important.

03:00Affordability. Very important for all Americans. And then perhaps one of the key issues that led to some

03:06election losses just recently. So how is the nation addressing that? Because I know that you speak

03:13to all of the governors in America. How are they seeing this shift? You know, as governors, we have

03:18a very unique perspective. You know, we always see D.C. fighting politically. But governors.

03:23What's going on? The longest ever government shutdown? Come on. It's crazy. But as governors,

03:28you know, I'm a Republican governor and I have friends that are Democrat governors and we really

03:32are focused on our states and let's make sure we have the best economy, the best education,

03:39the best infrastructure. We want the best health care system. And so I think that we have a unique

03:44perspective and that governors I talk to, even on the other side of the aisle, know that they need a

03:49reliable, affordable grid. And they ask me questions about how do you do it in Oklahoma?

03:54And it's permitting reform. We have to deliver gas pipelines to the Northeast. And we have some states

04:00blocking that. To your point, I guess, governors and on the state level, you could play a really

04:04key role in mitigating some of the political polarization. But when it comes to what we heard

04:10from voters on cost of living issues, do you see that as a warning sign for Republicans going into

04:162026 with the midterms, the gubernatorials as well? You know, just like most Americans, I was shocked

04:22at the margin of victory in both Virginia and the New Jersey governor's races for sure. But I think

04:29that's it usually happens in the midterms, right? It's kind of the pendulum swinging back a little

04:35bit as Americans not wanting one power. So I don't read too much into that. Those are pretty blue states.

04:42Governor Youngkin was was it was an amazing governor there in Virginia. And he had an amazing

04:47victory a few years back, four years back. But I wouldn't read too much into that. Of course,

04:52Americans want to make sure that the economy is thriving. And when you see cost of living

04:56increasing a little bit. But the policy, that's why we need to get government out of the way and

05:02let businesses work. And in making businesses work, would you accept, for example, investments

05:08from China? Because the hawkishness against Beijing seems to be one issue that both sides of the aisle

05:14agree right now. You know, I think it's important. I think COVID taught us that we need to control our

05:21supply chain. And we need to make sure that we have back to the critical mineral issue. We need to

05:25have that because, you know, those those those critical they go into fighter jets and cell phones.

05:32And we need to make sure we control that. And so if they're not in national security concerns when it

05:38comes to investments coming from China, would that be still an acceptable proposition, especially

05:42as a government that wants to see more jobs for your state?

05:47We would be a little reluctant to to open up with, you know, with open arms, Chinese invested

05:54businesses in the state of Oklahoma, just personally, just because of some potential conflicts

05:59there. And I suppose that is what you're hearing among other governors as well, other states?

06:05Definitely on the Republican side. And I would think I would think on the Democratic side as well,

06:09that they're a little bit more cautious about opening Chinese owned businesses, farmland.

06:15We're really looking at that in Oklahoma. So it's a big world out there. And we want to do business

06:22with our allies and people that, you know, think more like we do. And so I think we'd be a little

06:28more cautious about opening up to to Chinese influence in Oklahoma.

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