Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman made a big admission about President Donald Trump on Friday to a Fox News reporter that no doubt did not sit well with members of his own party.
“I’m wondering if you think right now Trump is winning the trade war. Do you agree with those who think he is?” he was asked by a Fox News reporter on Capitol Hill.
“I mean, absolutely,” Fetterman responded without hesitation, making reference to the president’s recent trade agreement with the European Union.
“And again, I’m a huge fan of [HBO comedian] Bill Maher. And I mean, I think he’s really one of the oracles for my party. And he acknowledged it. It’s like, hey, he thought that the tariffs were going to tank the economy and he acknowledged that it didn’t,” he added.
Fetterman reiterated his support for the new trade agreement with the European Union and voiced optimism that the final deal with China would also prove satisfactory.
WATCH:
On Friday, President Trump unveiled a broad set of new tariffs targeting dozens of countries, advancing his strategy to impose tougher trade measures and adjust timelines for finalizing agreements, The Hill reported.
The announcement, made just hours before a midnight deadline for the new rates to take effect, sets August 7 as the new enforcement date, giving U.S. officials more time to implement the tariffs and allowing the administration additional leverage to secure trade deals.
Under the updated structure, all imports will face a baseline 10 percent tariff, with significantly higher rates applied to specific nations: Syria (41 percent), Laos (40 percent), Switzerland (39 percent), Iraq (35 percent), South Africa (30 percent), and India (25 percent), the outlet added.
It marks the latest turn in Trump’s ongoing effort to reshape the global trading landscape—an initiative first introduced in April and delayed twice since.
In an interview with NBC News on Thursday night, Trump said it’s now “too late” for countries to avoid the tariffs set to take effect next week, though he signaled that future trade agreements remain possible.
“It doesn’t mean that somebody doesn’t come along in four weeks and say we can make some kind of a deal,” he said.
While most tariff increases were delayed by a week, Trump followed through on his threat to raise tariffs on Canada to 35 percent, The Hill noted.
He cited the flow of illicit drugs into the U.S. as the primary reason, though the move also appeared to be a response to Ottawa’s recent plan to recognize Palestinian statehood. The new tariffs exclude goods covered under the 2020 United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
Additionally, Trump signed an executive order imposing a 50 percent tariff on imports from Brazil.
The president said that some countries, despite having launched negotiations with the U.S., have not yet met his terms to “address imbalances in our trading relationship or have failed to align sufficiently with the United States on economic and national-security matters.”
The White House has boasted of pacts made so far, including with the European Union, South Korea, Japan, the United Kingdom, Indonesia and the Philippines in recent days, but agreements with other crucial trading partners — Mexico and China — remain in the works.
On Thursday, the president announced a 90-day extension for trade negotiations with Mexico, the United States’ largest trading partner. A 25 percent tariff on goods not covered by the USMCA will remain in effect during this period, while a planned increase to 30 percent has been postponed. Meanwhile, separate trade talks with China continue under an existing deadline of August 12, The Hill reported.
“The complexities of a Deal with Mexico are somewhat different than other Nations because of both the problems, and assets, of the Border,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “We will be talking to Mexico over the next 90 Days with the goal of signing a Trade Deal somewhere within the 90 Day period of time, or longer.”
