Vance on tariffs: We have a president that is ‘not going to allow America to be taken advantage of anymore’

Donald Trump has shaken the global economic landscape. The announcement of his tariff policy has unleashed a wave of negative reactions from all corners of the planet, mainly from Europe, Asia and South America. Even internally, although not all are critical of the president. There has also been praise, such as that received from his right-hand man, JD Vance.

As Trump stepped out into the White House Rose Garden to confirm what was already a fact, the vice president granted exclusive remarks to Breitbart to applaud measures that put the brakes on what he sees as "ridiculous trade and economic practices by friend and foe alike."

"So for 40 years, America has been the piggy bank of the world. We absorb all of the ridiculous trade practices and economic practices of friend and foe alike," Vance said.

"For the first time in probably 40 years, we have an American president who’s saying, ‘No more,’ that it’s not going to work, that he’s not going to allow America to be taken advantage of anymore. This decision is going to cause incredible benefits for American workers. You’ve already seen a number of American manufacturers and a number of foreign manufacturers who are saying they’re going to build or expand plants in America. That means more workers with good middle-class jobs. That means more self-sufficiency in the United States of America," he added.

Vance responds to international threats

Vance also referred to all those international leaders who have threatened to apply similar and even more aggressive trade measures than those taken by Trump. The vice president criticized that they are now attacking the president for establishing a policy that they have been using against the US abroad for decades.

"Yeah, it's funny. You have countries who threaten to retaliate against President Trump standing up for American workers," he said. "And my response is, well, if tariffs are so terrible, then isn’t them raising their tariffs good for us? Because these people always say that any tariffs are bad. Well, all these other countries have applied tariffs to the United States and non-tariff barriers to the United States for a generation. If it was so terrible, why do these countries keep on doing it? If it’s so terrible, why are these countries calling us, lobbying us, begging us not to do this thing? It just doesn’t make any sense."

The vice president took the opportunity to assure that "a lot of countries have gotten rich by using the United States as a piggy bank." "We know that President Trump stopping this makes these countries nervous, and the reason it makes them nervous is because they know what common sense tells us, which is that when they impose tariffs on us, it’s bad for American workers, and when we fight back, it’s good for American workers. In our foreign policy and our economic policy, we have a president who’s going to put the interests of Americans first."

On April 2, under the title "Liberation Day," Trump announced the imposition of reciprocal tariffs on many of America's trading partners. The president noted that it is "one of the most important days in the history of the United States." "It is our declaration of economic independence," he stressed.

Depending on the origin of the products, imports would be taxed one way or another. For example, for China the rate is 34%. For the countries that make up the European Union (EU) it is 39%, while for Japan it is 24%.