Lutnick to Newsmax: Some Trade Deals 'Less' Than Weeks Away

Addressing his statement this week there is at least one trade deal ready to be announced, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Newsmax on Wednesday night that more are close and that President Donald Trump might be waiting for an opportunity to unveil them together.

"I think less" than months or weeks, Lutnick told "Rob Schmitt Tonight" in an exclusive sit-down Wednesday, saying he has deals with "handful of countries in reasonable shape."

"I think we are in very good shape," he said.

"He probably doesn't want to announce one deal alone. He probably wants to announce three or four, but I'll let him decide how he wants to announce it. People can see the process."

There are "different things" for "different countries," but the framework for the whole world needs to be hammered out and refined before it is unveiled to all, Lutnick said "when you're trying to get it right — especially the first three or four deals where you guys are going to be reading every word of it."

"We're not in a fight with the rest of the world," he said. "We're negotiating with the rest of the world fair trade, and we are going to produce fair trade with the rest of the world."

Trump's tariffs are needed "when you're a business in America and you're fighting the government of X, you're going to lose," according to Lutnick, who hopes he can help Trump rebalance the global trade order.

"Their government supports their industry and beats ours up, and we need help here, and that's what Donald Trump is doing," he said. "When their government supports their business, it makes it really, really hard for our businesses.

"And, finally, Donald Trump's in the White House."

While the anti-Trump media and political forces continue to tarnish the president's first 100 days, Lutnick said you have to let the "greatest dealmaker make his deals."

"We're negotiating with all these countries and the basic premise is, 'Look, you know the rate we're going to charge you if you say nothing, so how about you open your market, be fair, let's get it right, and in exchange for that we'll set fair tariffs together," Lutnick said. "We'll come to that balance. Let's get it on, and let's do it together.

"And that is happening fast and ferociously across the markets so we as a country are in great shape."

"The big dog" negotiations to get China to "deescalate" their trade imbalance and barriers with the U.S. are in the hands of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trump at "at the top," but Lutnick has been tasked to directly negotiate the trade deals "with the rest of the world."

"The rest of the world is in really, really good shape," Lutnick said. "And I want you to understand how in good shape: We're going to get deal after deal, but remember each one of these deals is: How much are you going to open your market? How much are you going to be more fair to us? How are we going to deal with pharmaceuticals? How are we going to deal with semiconductors? How are we going to deal with steel?

"Let's go do it so our national security's protected."

Lutnick says he "tells these countries, 'Yes, we are America first, but we are not America only.'"

"We're not trying to hurt anybody," he continued. "We need to be a strong America to help the world. The world needs a strong America, and then we can help them.

"But we can't help ourselves if we have a $1.2 trillion trade deficit and we're running $2 trillion budget deficits. We're not going to be in the power of the world to make the world a better place.

"We need to fix our house and Donald Trump is fixing our house."

But there is a lot of "nonsense" coming from the countries Lutnick is talking to, pointing to non-GMO corn, for instance.

"Why won't you buy our corn?" Lutnick said, mimicking his conversation with another unspecified country.

"'Well, your corn is GMO.'

"The corn that you're discussing was modified 30 years ago with insect repellent," Lutnick continued. "Are you suggesting your farmers don't use insect repellent seeds? What do they have, like, the virgin seeds from some monastery?

"The nonsense I have to listen to," Lutnick said.

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