Howard Lutnick, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Commerce Department, offered a detailed defense of tariffs in his confirmation hearing, the clearest signal yet from a cabinet pick that the new administration is prepared to impose the levies on allies and adversaries alike.
The Wall Street veteran, appearing before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, detailed several goals he expects tariffs to achieve, from bolstering national security to restoring American manufacturing and supply chains. He also called them an effective negotiating tactic that will force other countries to again “respect” the US.
Lutnick brushed aside worries that tariffs would drive inflation higher as “nonsense,” while conceding prices of some products might go up. Asked if US tariff policy would distinguish between friends and foes, he said China should face the stiffest duties overall but that allies won’t be spared.
“I think Chinese tariffs should be the highest, our adversaries should be the highest,” Lutnick said. “But the fact that we Americans cannot sell an American car in Europe is just wrong and it needs to be fixed.”
“They are taking advantage of us, they are disrespecting us and I would like to see that end,” he said.
The reception Lutnick got from Republicans and many Democrats suggest he’ll clear the Senate without much trouble. Vice President JD Vance introduced Lutnick, calling him “a good dude” who can reverse stagnating wages and sell the US economy abroad.
The Cantor Fitzgerald LP chief executive, who Trump tapped to lead his “tariff and trade agenda” differentiated between tariff uses, adding that some are possible to avoid if countries bend to Washington’s demands.
For instance, the president’s threat of 25% duties on Canada and Mexico as soon as Feb. 1 is a short-term tactic related narrowly to migration and fentanyl issues along their borders with the US, which he said they both can avoid if they “execute.”
“If we are your biggest trading partner, show us the respect, shut your border,” he said. “And as far as I know, they are acting swiftly, and if they execute it, there will be no tariff. And if they don’t, then there will be.”
But he also said he favors longer-term goals that reset trade ties and drive manufacturing back to the US, including an endorsement of “across-the-board” tariffs on a “country-by-country” basis.
“We are treated horribly by the global trading environment,” he said, echoing Trump’s grievance about unfair practices by America’s biggest trading partners.
Read More: As Trump Lobs Tariff Threats, White House Maps Trade Overhaul
How much influence Lutnick will have on White House policies is unclear, as he’ll be competing for Trump’s attention with other advisors, such China hawk Peter Navarro, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Trump has ordered several studies of overall trade issues and tariffs by April 1, which Lutnick described as part of the White House’s broader approach.
Lutnick also circled back to tariffs when asked about export controls on semiconductors to China and the breakthrough of China-based DeepSeek’s open-source AI model.
“What this showed is that our export controls, not backed by tariffs, are like a whack-a-mole model,” Lutnick said. “We’ve got to find a way to back our export controls with tariff model. I do not believe that DeepSeek was done all above board. That’s nonsense.”
Trump has pledged three broad buckets of tariffs, though it’s not yet clear whether, when and at what scale they’ll be implemented.
In addition to threats against Mexico, Canada and China, Trump has pledged tariffs on particular sectors, including semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, steel, aluminum and copper. He has also mused about a universal tariff as high as 20% hitting all imports, though he hasn’t specified a target.
Lutnick also singled out Canada’s dairy system as an example of a problem he wants to address.
“Canada, as we spoke about, treats our dairy farmers horribly,” Lutnick told Senator Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat from the dairy producing battleground state of Wisconsin. “That’s got to end.”
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