Hagerty Joins Open Interest on BloombergTV to Discuss Japan Trade Deal, China Negotiations, Appropriations
BrianHornback.com
Today, United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, joined Open Interest on BloombergTV to discuss President Donald Trump’s new trade agreement with Japan, implications for China, and the Senate’s progress on appropriations and crypto legislation.
Partial Transcript
Hagerty on the significance of the U.S.-Japan trade agreement: “I think this is putting us on a completely new playing field with our allies in Japan. I look forward to what we do with South Korea as well. Japan is going to become a major financier of projects that support all of our national security, our economic security, and our national security. When I was Ambassador to Japan, we negotiated two trade deals with the Japanese. These are not easy to do. And my hats off to the team– Secretary [Scott] Bessent, Secretary [Howard] Lutnick, and Ambassador [Jamieson] Greer– they have done a fantastic job and delivered a terrific deal.”
Hagerty on access for U.S. rice: “The Japanese are difficult to negotiate with, but they keep their word once a deal is made. I know that’s not true in every place in the world, but the Japanese certainly do. I know the negotiations have been tough; I’ve been in rice negotiations with the Japanese in the past. It’s almost a sacred issue in their agricultural sector, but rice has had an incredible run in terms of its price, creating a lot of inflation and pain domestically in Japan. I think this [deal] will be welcomed by the Japanese public to see more rice imported. It will take some of the pressure off the supply constraints that they have right now in the country.”
Hagerty on the implications the U.S.-Japan deal has on China: “This [deal] absolutely makes a huge difference with respect to China. What China can observe is that our allies are working with us, and we’re doing this in a way that maximizes economic opportunity here in the United States, making our nation stronger. A stronger America means that all of our allies benefit from this. It’s a good deal for Japan. Their stock market is up. Our stock market is up. Everybody’s loving this.”
Hagerty on future trade benchmarks: “I’m sure people will jump to that assumption [that 15 percent will become the new benchmark tariff level], but they don’t know the specifics of the deal. That will come down to the hard tax, and we’ll see how the negotiations go. I know that Ambassador Greer, Secretary Bessent, and Secretary Lutnick have spent a tremendous amount of time on this deal. Every deal will be unique. It’s going to be hard to superimpose that, but I’m certain that that’s where the industry will sort of target now that they see this come out with Japan.”
Hagerty on finalizing trade agreements: “Not every single agreement [will be wrapped by Aug. 1], but the ones that matter. They [the White House] have been very focused on delivering agreements with those countries with which we have significant trade deficits. And Secretary Bessent sums it up by saying there are about 18 countries that [trade agreements] matter. I talk often with Ambassador Greer. He’s got term sheets, and he’s been working through a very structured, very disciplined process. I’m optimistic that they will have terms set. I’m not saying they will have the final agreements papered, but the broad terms will be set.”
Hagerty on Senate August recess, nominee backlog, and government funding: “I think that [recess] is up to [Senator] Chuck Schumer. We’ve had maximum resistance from the Democrat side; they have not allowed a single one of our nominees to go through without putting us through maximum procedural hoops. That’s created a backlog. Every president needs to have their team on the ground and ready to go. Chuck Schumer is going to have to ask himself if he is going to keep kowtowing to the far left, or actually stand up and say: here’s what’s good for America. Let’s get it done. I’m ready to work through the weekend. … It’s important to talk to constituents. They elected us. Many of us are in cycle right now, myself included. But at the same time, we have an obligation and a duty to our constituents to make certain the government is functioning. And this resistance movement that tries to deprive the President of the team that he needs to execute is harmful to the economy. It’s harmful to our national security, so we have to address it.”
Hagerty on appropriations and shutdown risk: “An important thing that we never worked on when Chuck Schumer was the leader was putting appropriations bills on the floor. That’s happening this week. We’re looking at the Sept. 30 deadline responsibly. We’re trying to put our appropriation bills on the floor so we don’t wind up with an 11th-hour negotiation that winds up with the government teetering on a shutdown. I don’t think we’ll shut down. But again, that’s up to Chuck Schumer and the resistance movement. … I hope that we’ll be able to come to terms with the Democrats. They have not been willing to negotiate so far as we move on our appropriations bill. That really narrows the space that we’ve got to deal with as we come to the Sept. 30 deadline. It’s possible to get appointees taken care of. We don’t need to shut the government down, but it requires cooperation.”
Hagerty on the GENIUS Act and crypto market structure: “We’re working very hard [on the next phase of digital asset legislation]. We just put out a discussion draft this week on market structure. I’m very proud of my legislation, the GENIUS Act, which opens the door for digital assets in America. Compared to where we were a year ago, it’s a massive change. The U.S. markets are open to digital currencies and blockchain innovation. I’m excited about where we’re going. Our goal is to have this market structure bill move through expeditiously and get it done this fall.”
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