President Trump Comments on Trade in State of the Union Address

In his second State of the Union address to Congress, President Donald Trump noted that he campaigned on several core promises, including “to defend American jobs and demand fair trade for American workers.” He argued that his administration has “moved with urgency and historic speed to confront problems neglected by leaders of both parties over many decades” and indicated that “one priority is paramount – reversing decades of calamitous trade policies.”

His prepared speech included comments on the ongoing trade dispute with China and the Section 301 tariffs imposed on $250 billion worth of imported Chinese products. He noted that his administration continues to work on a new trade deal with China, but that any final agreement “must include real, structural change to end unfair trade practices, reduce our chronic trade deficit, and protect American jobs.” On the other major trade issue of 2018, the president called NAFTA an “historic trade blunder” and “catastrophe” that has now been addressed by the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Trump called on Congress to pass the agreement in order to “bring … back our manufacturing jobs, [expand] American agriculture, [protect] intellectual property, and ensur[e] that more cars are proudly stamped with four beautiful words: made in the USA.”

In his only other significant remarks on trade, the president asked Congress to pass the United State Reciprocal Trade Act, arguing that the United States should be able to issue “the exact same tariff on the same product that they sell to us” if another country places an unfair tariff on a U.S. product. See also Trump and Trade Update of January 25 for more details on this act and other recently introduced trade- and tariff-related legislation.

Concerning economic sanctions and relations with certain “rogue” countries, the president announced that he will meet again with Kim Jong-un, Supreme Leader of North Korea, on February 26-27, 2019, in Vietnam, acknowledging that “much work remains to be done.” Trump highlighted his administration’s recent decision to officially recognized the legitimate government of Venezuela and its new interim president, Juan Guaidó. President Trump noted that he has “acted decisively to confront the world’s leading state sponsor of terror: the radical regime in Iran” and “put in place the toughest sanctions ever imposed on a country” after withdrawing from the “disastrous Iran nuclear deal.”

Shortly after the president’s address, the White House released a series of fact sheets on the various topics covered in his message, including “President Donald J. Trump Has Forged New Trade Agreements to Revitalize American Industry and Agriculture.”

Compliments of Thompson Hine LLP, a member of the EACCNY