Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick this week defended President Donald Trump's widespread tariffs on imports, saying the U.S. will earn "more than $30 billion a month."
Lutnick said in an interview with NewsNation host Chris Cuomo on Thursday night, "The United States of America is taking in more than $30 billion a month from these 10% tariffs around the world. Our earnings as a country are rising, our deficit is going to decline."
He continued, "So, the way it actually runs through the markets is that the selling countries overseas, they eat most of it, the currency as they trade to us, eats the rest of it."
The secretary noted that the most recent earnings report from Amazon shows the company earned more than $155 billion in revenue during the first quarter of 2025.
"And you had the president of Amazon on his earnings call saying that, basically, Amazon has seen no change in demand and no change in price," Lutnick said. "So, the fact is, at 10 percent you're not going to see it. Above 15 percent, I agree you're going to see it, but China eats the above numbers."
He added, "So, it's not about China, but the rest of the world. At 10 percent, you're not going to feel anything at all, in my opinion."
Lutnick also dismissed the ratings agency Moody's, which downgraded the U.S. credit rating from "Aaa" to "Aa1" last week due to high "government debt and interest payment ratios to levels that are significantly higher than similarly rated sovereigns."
The secretary said Thursday that Moody's is "not counting the fact that the President of the United States of America has said, we're going to earn more money from tariffs. We're just not going to get ripped off anymore."
He added, "And I think you're going to see interest rates go in the other direction."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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