Representative Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) said that President Donald Trump's tariff policies, which have paused as countries negotiate new trade deals, will work in the United States' favor and be "beautiful in the end" in a recent appearance on Fox Business's Evening Edit.
The host noted that Japan is currently in talks with the President and has been the focus of recent trade discussions. Rep. Salazar said this is proof that they and "175 other countries are willing to talk to the president because everybody wants access to the biggest market in the world, which is ours."
"Remember that only Trump and a couple of other presidents like [James] Madison and [Abraham] Lincoln. Lincoln said, 'Give me a tariff, and I will give you a wonderful country," Rep. Salazar continued, adding, "So this is just a diplomatic tool that [Trump] is using, just like any other president, and I am sure that it is going to be beautiful in the end, like the President would say. I mean, empirical evidence says it: everyone needs access to the United States market."
However, the host replied that the market has been uncertain in recent weeks since the implementation of numerous tariffs despite their pausing, as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said inflation was "spiking" and economic growth slowed down due to the tariffs.
The Florida Congresswoman remained optimistic, saying, "We know what the end result is going to be: We need to isolate China. We need to make sure that China does not eat our cake anymore."
"Look, they are producing our meds, our toys, our furniture, some of the weapon parts," Salazar continued, "So it is time to change the narrative that started with Nixon and bring all of those companies back to this hemisphere, which is what you call nearshoring or reshoring."
Hence, she and Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) introduced the Americas Act last March, "which is basically to signal those American companies [to] come back home to the United States or to the Western Hemisphere [...] so if we have another COVID, we do not have to be waiting for China to send us the aspirins. China wants to destroy us."
