Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to reporters at the G7 Summit in Quebec, Canada.
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript
Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript
Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00We should have used the real backdrop, not the...
00:20Well, I just had a couple of points and we'll answer your questions and I'm sure you're
00:24dying to get home.
00:26So first I want to thank Canada, they did a great job of hosting this, and Foreign Minister
00:30Jolie who had to leave here, she's going to go be sworn in.
00:34We remain in her post and she's become a friend in the last few weeks as we've worked together.
00:38I knew her a little bit before but I've gotten to know her now obviously in this role.
00:41They did a great job of hosting in a beautiful place and so we're grateful to them.
00:45I think we have a very strong statement from the G7, hopefully you've gotten that by now
00:49and have been able to see it.
00:51Very strong statement on a number of issues of mutual concern.
00:53We touched those topics, it was a really good engagement and obviously there'll be
00:56some follow-up and it sort of sets up for the leaders meeting later on this year and
01:02we hope that'll be equally productive but we felt really good about the statement, worked
01:06hard on it.
01:07I think it reflects our points on a number of topics.
01:11And I would just say the one takeaway, you know, you're going to ask me questions about
01:14things that are going on in different bilateral relationships and so forth but I think what's
01:19important and something I said at the outset which everybody agreed with is that we're
01:24not going to allow the things we disagree on, and we'll disagree on things, to keep
01:28us from working closely on the things we agree on and there are a lot of those.
01:32And hopefully the statement reflects that and our actions will reflect that.
01:35And so I think we feel really good about it.
01:39The other announcement, and I think this is already reflected in the President's statements,
01:43there was a – what we felt was a very positive and productive engagement yesterday with President
01:49Putin and Special Envoy Whitkoff.
01:52Obviously he is on his way back.
01:53He should be back and hopefully we'll convene this weekend, we'll examine the Russian position
01:59more closely, and determine – the President will then determine what the next steps are.
02:04Suffice it to say, I think there is reason to be cautiously optimistic, but by the same
02:09token we continue to recognize this is a difficult and complex situation.
02:14It will not be easy, it will not be simple, but we certainly feel like we're at least
02:19some steps closer to ending this war and bringing peace, but it's still a long journey.
02:24It's a journey of many steps.
02:26So – but this is positive momentum.
02:28Obviously we'll see what Russia and others are willing to do.
02:34It's not just Russia.
02:35Obviously it has to be things acceptable to Ukraine.
02:37But it's been a good week on that front, but there's a lot of work that remains to
02:40be done.
02:41But there's reason to be cautiously optimistic.
02:45But we'll know more once Special Envoy Whitkoff, Ambassador Whitkoff returns and we have a
02:49chance to all convene and talk about it, and obviously the President is the ultimate decider
02:54on next steps for the United States.
02:56Okay.
02:57QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
02:58QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
02:59QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
03:00QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
03:01QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
03:02Do you trust Putin?
03:03I think it's an irrelevant question.
03:04I think in foreign policy you really – it's not about trusting, it's about actions,
03:05about things that you do.
03:06So in the end, on something like this, you can't just say you want peace, you have
03:10to do peace.
03:11And that's true for both sides in any conflict, so in any war and in any engagement.
03:15So I think ultimately all these things – I would just encourage you guys, if we're going
03:19to be serious about foreign policy, to sort of navigate away from some of the – this
03:23is not a reality show, this is not about personalities, this is very simple.
03:27You either do things or you don't.
03:28There are things you are doing and things you're not doing.
03:31And that's what foreign policy is driven by, and that's how our decisions should
03:34be driven by.
03:35So unfortunately, in foreign policy, oftentimes you will have to work with – I'm not
03:41talking about President Putin in particular, I'm talking about generally – you will
03:44have to work with people you don't like in foreign policy, and oftentimes you will
03:47have disagreements with people you like.
03:50Sometimes you will have to figure out how to work together with nations that are not
03:53aligned with you on most issues.
03:55And in other cases, you may find yourself unaligned on an issue with a nation that you
04:00work with very closely on a bunch of other things.
04:02That's not just now true today.
04:05That has been true throughout the history of mankind and certainly the relations between
04:09nation-states.
04:10So I think it's important.
04:11I get there's this temptation to cover foreign policy the way we cover domestic policy and
04:16the way we cover other things in our society, but foreign policy about nation-states pursuing
04:20what they have interpreted to be in their national interest and balancing that is what
04:25the art of diplomacy and the work of foreign policy is all about.
04:28So we need to sort of be mature and open-eyed and realistic without losing our idealism,
04:34without losing what we hope the world will look like and want to shape it and be a part
04:38of.
04:39But by the same token, we have to make pragmatic decisions every single day, and that's not
04:43true today.
04:44That's always been true.
04:45Always.
04:46MR.
04:47RATHKE.
04:48Secretary, do you have any top lines from Mr. Whitkoff?
04:49I know this was a late meeting.
04:50It went hours long.
04:51Is there anything that he shared?
04:53And then when you do examine the Russian position, the comments by President Putin were quite
04:57convoluted and tough to decipher.
04:59I wonder if you think that he's playing for time.
05:03MR.
05:04BEGLEITER.
05:05Well, I think you're not going to – this is not something that's going to play out
05:06in press conferences, as I stand at a press conference.
05:10But this is – these – again, I go back to the point I just made.
05:13When you want – if you think about the most recent example of ceasefire negotiations,
05:19which was what happened in Gaza and with Israel and so forth, yeah, there were newspaper and
05:23there were articles and there was news stories about it.
05:25But ultimately, you found out what the results were after the fact.
05:29And in the meantime, you saw public statements from different sides in regards to what they
05:32were going to do.
05:33I think this will be no different.
05:34So certainly, we're not going to make our foreign policy decisions on the basis of what
05:40a leader says – simply says at a press conference that somebody puts up on social media posts
05:46because you're some blogger close to the Kremlin or something like that.
05:48And likewise, I don't think they're going to do that either.
05:50So I would just say that this is going to play out the way things of this nature and
05:55caliber have traditionally and normally play out, and that is with the leaders of the countries
06:01involved speaking not in front of the cameras, not in front of the media, but in these negotiations
06:06that happen and in these talks that happen.
06:08So I don't want to – I'm not going to comment on what President Putin said other
06:11than he said he agreed with it in concept.
06:14So –
06:15QUESTIONS FROM THE FRONTLINE
06:16QUESTIONS FROM THE FRONTLINE
06:17QUESTIONS FROM THE FRONTLINE
06:18QUESTIONS FROM THE FRONTLINE
06:19QUESTIONS FROM THE FRONTLINE
06:20Well, again, he said that at a press conference.
06:21As I said – and I go back to the phrase I used earlier – I think there is reason
06:23for cautious optimism that something good could come of this.
06:26Obviously, we're going to wait for Ambassador Woodcock to return.
06:29He's not back yet.
06:30We're going to reconvene.
06:31Obviously, he – I spoke to him late last night, and he spoke to the President well
06:34before that.
06:35He may have spoken to other members of our team.
06:37I've been here.
06:38But ultimately, we're going to get – we're going to reconvene, and the President will
06:41have options available to him, and decisions will be made after that.
06:45But I don't want to speculate or characterize anything beyond what I've just said until
06:49we have had a chance to sit down with Ambassador Woodcock, who's still overseas and in travel.
06:54QUESTIONS FROM THE FRONTLINE
06:55QUESTIONS FROM THE FRONTLINE
06:56QUESTIONS FROM THE FRONTLINE
06:57QUESTIONS FROM THE FRONTLINE
06:58QUESTIONS FROM THE FRONTLINE
06:59QUESTIONS FROM THE FRONTLINE
07:27to stake a position of U.S. policy on the basis of what someone said at a press conference
07:32yesterday.
07:33So let's – we're going to work through this thing in a normal, sane fashion.
07:37We'll figure out where we are.
07:39Based on what I know at this moment with my conversation with Ambassador Woodcock – he's
07:44not here yet – is we're going to – I feel like there's reason for cautious optimism.
07:49I think the President shared that today in his True Social post.
07:52But there's a lot of work – no, I have never told anybody that this is going to be
07:55easy, fast, simple, slam-dunk.
07:58It'll be hard, but it's important work.
07:59We have – we are a better place today, I hope, I believe – we have reason to believe
08:03– than we were a week ago, but we still have a long ways to go.
08:06It could come together pretty quickly if everyone aligns, but I don't know how aligned we
08:11are yet.
08:12That's what we're going to – about to find out.
08:13So cautious optimism is about the best phraseology I could use at this moment.
08:18Based on what we know, we're going to keep working on it.
08:20QUESTIONS FROM THE PRESS
08:21MR.
08:22VENTRELL, THE WASHINGTON POST
08:23QUESTIONER 2
08:24Mr. Secretary, the statement that you –
08:25MR.
08:26VENTRELL, THE WASHINGTON POST
08:27I'll get to everybody.
08:28QUESTIONER 2
08:29But it's just the present – the fundamental element of the President's proposal was
08:30it should be an immediate ceasefire.
08:31MR.
08:32VENTRELL, THE WASHINGTON POST
08:33Sure, and that's the proposal.
08:34QUESTIONER 2
08:35So the question is how long does Putin have?
08:36MR.
08:37VENTRELL, THE WASHINGTON POST
08:38Well, in terms of long for what?
08:39QUESTIONER 2
08:40How long does – because there are those who say he's playing for time, but this is
08:41adding conditions, adding pressure.
08:42MR.
08:50is the fundamental question really is not how long.
08:52I think the question is are we actually moving
08:54towards a ceasefire or is this a delay tactic?
08:56I'm not gonna answer that
08:57because I can't characterize that for you right now.
08:59I think we'll know sooner rather than later
09:01and a lot of that will be based on the conversation
09:03Ambassador Whitkoff had yesterday
09:05and other factors that are in play.
09:07But we're not there yet, but we will get there.
09:09We want it to be, the President wanted it to be yesterday
09:11and the day before.
09:13But we're certainly at least talking about peace
09:15for the first time in three years.
09:16Now we'll have to figure out how close we truly are
09:19and that's gonna take some time
09:20and Whitkoff's not here yet.
09:23So here meaning stateside.
09:25Mr. Secretary, the joint statement says
09:28that there is a need for robust,
09:30incredible security arrangements for Ukraine.
09:32How would you define that based on your conversations
09:35here at the G7?
09:35What are robust, incredible security arrangements?
09:38Well, that's to be determined by the negotiations.
09:40Here's what I wanna encourage everybody to do.
09:42Bifurcate two things, okay?
09:44The ceasefire and the conditions for everybody
09:46to stop shooting at each other.
09:47What will it take to get everybody
09:48to stop shooting at each other?
09:51And then moving to a negotiating table
09:52on settling the war with finality.
09:54Two separate processes.
09:56Process number one is, what do we need from both sides
09:59in order to stop the shooting and the fighting?
10:02So that you can get to a negotiating table.
10:04That's the second phase.
10:05As part of that second phase, there will obviously,
10:07every country in the world has a right to security,
10:10has a right to defend itself,
10:11has a right to protect its territory.
10:13That will have to be part of that conversation.
10:15And it will have to be something that involves
10:18not simply the views of the United States,
10:20but other countries that are involved in it.
10:21I've repeated this over and over again.
10:23The European Union has imposed significant sanctions
10:26on the Russian Federation
10:27and on individuals inside of Russia.
10:29So they will have to be consulted
10:31and they'll have to be engaged in this process and so forth.
10:33So let's not predetermine or start putting
10:38everything ahead of itself here.
10:40The process of what long-term security means for Ukraine,
10:44that will be something that Ukraine
10:45will obviously have to agree with
10:46and that will have to be worked through
10:47as part of that second phase.
10:49But we can't get to the second phase
10:51till we get through the first phase.
10:52We think it's very difficult,
10:54very difficult to negotiate lasting peace and security
10:58in the midst of an all-out war.
11:00And so we have to try to lower that
11:02so that it makes it possible to move to phase two of this.
11:05Secretary, the statement that you issued a little while ago
11:09also notes that the G7 discussed ways
11:12to impose costs on Russia should that become necessary
11:15to include caps on oil prices,
11:17additional support for Ukraine
11:19using seized sovereign Russian assets.
11:23Was there, but it said it discussed them.
11:25You didn't agree on them.
11:26Is there any agreement within the G7
11:29on these particular measures,
11:31just what they should be in what order
11:34and what might trigger them?
11:35And why did you discuss them
11:36if you're so cautiously optimistic?
11:38Well, first of all, they were raised
11:40because the Europeans have their own set of sanctions
11:42and new ones they would like to impose.
11:43And certainly the United States is not a member of the EU.
11:46We don't have a vote at the EU.
11:47And so whatever they determine and decide to do,
11:50we can't control it.
11:52They ask us for our input, we'll give it to them,
11:53but that's not what's happening right now.
11:55So yes, it was discussed.
11:57As far as U.S. sanctions are concerned,
11:59the president's made clear,
12:00the president on two occasions in the past week
12:02has reminded everybody
12:03that the U.S. has these options available to it,
12:06but he doesn't wanna do that right now
12:07because he's in the hopes of attracting people,
12:09both sides, to a process where we can negotiate peace.
12:12And I'll leave it at that.
12:13There really is nothing to add to that at this point.
12:15Mr. Secretary, on the- Go ahead,
12:16hold on one second, yes.
12:17Statement reaffirms unwavering support
12:19for Ukraine's territorial integrity,
12:21which has been largely absent
12:23in various U.S. statements since January 20th.
12:26What led you to subscribe to that at this time?
12:29But I don't, that's not a change in public policy.
12:31The United States has never said that Russia,
12:34I've never heard President Trump say
12:35that Russia has a right to take all of Ukraine
12:37and do whatever they want there.
12:38So that's not inconsistent with that statement.
12:40That is separate from the issue we face today,
12:43and that is that as it stands today,
12:45there is a war going on
12:47that has no military solution to it.
12:49Neither Russia nor Ukraine
12:50can achieve its maximalist military aims.
12:53The only way to end this war
12:54is through a process of negotiations.
12:56Negotiations, be it in business, in commerce,
12:59or in geopolitics, involves both sides giving something,
13:03both sides making concessions.
13:04That's just obvious.
13:05I'm not saying, I don't think that should be
13:08sort of a news-making statement.
13:11That's the reality of any conversations that exist
13:13in order to end wars,
13:14is that there has to be some level of concessions.
13:17What those concessions are remains to be seen.
13:20That'll have to be part of the negotiation.
13:21But it's not going to be helpful
13:24to enter into those negotiations
13:25making blanket statements
13:27that may give an excuse for one side or the other
13:29not to participate in it.
13:31So we'll have to get to that stage
13:32where these things are discussed,
13:34and ultimately, both sides, whatever happens,
13:36both sides will have to agree to it.
13:37And that's true of any negotiation
13:40when you're trying to end a war.
13:42Mr. Secretary.
13:43I'm understanding your point about
13:45this not being a reality show or personalities.
13:48Ukraine, or anything else for that matter,
13:50your boss has, shall we say, a rather strong personality.
13:54And I'm wondering, in light of that
13:56and his repeated comments about Canada becoming,
14:01or should be the 51st state,
14:03the whole tariff situation,
14:05which intensified as we were on our way here
14:09after your big announcement in Jeddah,
14:13did that complicate your discussions at all?
14:15Was it?
14:16It never came up once in our conversation.
14:18I mean, obviously, with a foreign minister,
14:19Canada has, but it was not a topic.
14:21It was not on our agenda.
14:22I told you that would not be discussed.
14:24Tariffs were.
14:25So let me explain on the tariffs.
14:26This is important for everybody to understand.
14:27This keeps getting characterized
14:29as a hostile move against our allies.
14:31These are global tariffs on steel, on aluminum,
14:34on autos, on semiconductors.
14:35Eventually, the President stated this.
14:36And then a global, in April,
14:38the intention to put tariffs,
14:41assuming that the study comes back and so forth.
14:44But what they've discussed is a global reciprocal tariff.
14:47Understand what that means.
14:47That means basically whatever some country charges us,
14:50that's what we're gonna charge them.
14:52The goal the President has made very clear
14:54is he wants to reset the baseline of international trade,
14:57which he believes, and I agree,
14:59is unfair to the United States.
15:01This is not meant as a hostile move against Japan
15:03or Germany or anybody else.
15:05This is not about,
15:06this is about balancing and fairness in trade.
15:09So he wants to reset the baseline.
15:11And once that baseline is reset,
15:13then you can enter into bilateral negotiations
15:17with individual countries about changes
15:19that can be made to our bilateral trade
15:23so that it's fair for both sides.
15:25That's his goal.
15:26In his first administration,
15:27the President did tariffs as well.
15:29What he was disturbed by, in hindsight,
15:31is the fact that they included a bunch of exemptions
15:33that basically made them meaningless.
15:35And so what he wants to get back to
15:37is basically fairness in trade.
15:38It's as simple as that.
15:40We wanna charge other countries, but they charge us.
15:42And then ultimately, once the baseline is reset,
15:45and then in addition to that,
15:47there are industries that are critical to the United States
15:49and to our domestic security and our future.
15:51And he's identified them.
15:52Steel, aluminum, semiconductors, automobile.
15:55These are things that we believe are in our interest
15:58to have a domestic capacity,
15:59and we have to protect these industries
16:01from what we feel is subsidization
16:03and unfair competition from abroad.
16:06This is not meant to be hostile towards anybody.
16:08It is meant to be friendly and supportive
16:11of our national interest as a country.
16:14Once the baseline of trade is reset
16:17in a way that's fair and equitable,
16:19then we can engage in the process
16:21of bilateral negotiations with individual countries,
16:25including our allies,
16:27to set up a more sustainable and fair
16:30long-term trade arrangement
16:31between our respective countries.
16:33So, Mr. Secretary, the President.
16:35And your meeting with Foreign Minister Jody,
16:38do you understand why the Canadians
16:40are taking such umbrage at these comments
16:44coming from the President?
16:45Is that something you can comment on?
16:48The Canadian government has made their position,
16:50how they feel about it, clear.
16:52The President has made his argument
16:53as to why he thinks Canada would be better off
16:55joining the United States for economic purposes.
16:58There's a disagreement between the President's position
17:00and the position of the Canadian government.
17:02I don't think that's a mystery coming in,
17:04and it wasn't a topic of conversation
17:05because that's not what the summit was about.
17:07Mr. Secretary, you said that the terror policy was not hostile.
17:11However, President Trump yesterday,
17:13in his social media post,
17:14said that the EU previously had been hostile
17:17and abusive towards the United States.
17:19How do you square that?
17:20And secondly, is he serious when he's talking
17:23about the 51st state being Canada?
17:25Well, I've already answered the question about Canada.
17:28Okay, but is he serious?
17:29Do you take him seriously?
17:30We're not discussing that here today
17:31because that's not what the purpose of this meeting was about.
17:33As far as the question that you're asking me about hostility,
17:36yeah, look at the EU, okay?
17:38The EU has a GDP basically comparable
17:41to that of the United States.
17:42The composition of their economy is similar to ours.
17:45These are not developing countries.
17:46These are developed countries,
17:47and yet they have a significant trade surplus
17:50with the United States,
17:50even though our economies are pretty much the same.
17:52These are not low-wage countries.
17:54That's a problem.
17:55All the president is saying is
17:56we need to equalize treatment.
17:59Whatever they do to us, we need to do to them
18:01in addition to pointing to certain sectors
18:04that we have to protect.
18:05Who can argue against the idea
18:07that if some country charges us X to export our products,
18:10we should charge them the same?
18:12I get it.
18:13If you're a country or the EU
18:14that's benefiting from the status quo,
18:16you feel it is hostile to change the status quo
18:18because it's to your benefit.
18:19The problem is the president of the United States
18:21is looking out for the United States,
18:23both in national security and in economic relations.
18:26We will reset the basis of our trade relationship,
18:29and then we can enter into negotiations
18:31for something that's enduring and fair to both sides.
18:34That's what the president seeks to do,
18:36and that's what begins by resetting,
18:39at a reciprocal way, the amount of tariffs
18:41we charge one another in our trade relations.
18:43Mr. Secretary, I take your point.
18:45Mr. Secretary, if I can follow up.
18:46Mr. Secretary, I know that we're not speaking
18:49about Canada becoming the 51st state at this meeting,
18:53but I'm asking you now,
18:54do you consider what the president has said
18:57about Canada becoming the 51st state?
19:00Is he serious?
19:01You know, I'll tell you how that came about, okay?
19:02He's in a meeting with Trudeau,
19:05and Trudeau basically says
19:06that if the U.S. imposes tariffs on Canada,
19:08Canada couldn't survive as a nation state,
19:10at which point the president said,
19:11well, then you should become a state.
19:13And that's where this began.
19:14That said, the president has made an argument
19:17for why he says he loves Canada.
19:19He says he made an argument for why Canada
19:21would be better off joining the United States
19:23from an economic perspective and the like.
19:25He's made that argument repeatedly,
19:27and I think it stands for itself.
19:29All right.
19:30Is it counterproductive?
19:32The Trump administration is expected
19:33to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
19:37Have to dust that off.
19:38A lot of people not familiar with it.
19:40Can you help us understand
19:41how the Trump administration plans to use these powers?
19:45Well, those are, that's a question for DHS.
19:47It's not a question for us.
19:49What I can tell you is, from our perspective,
19:51unrelated to that, is that we will continue
19:54to look for people that we would never have allowed
19:56into this country on student visas
19:58had we known they were gonna do what they've done.
20:00But now that they've done it, we're gonna get rid of them.
20:02And we are continuing to look for that.
20:04And so in the days to come,
20:06you should expect more visas will be revoked
20:07as we identify people that we should never have allowed in
20:10because they lied to us.
20:12When they said they were coming here to be students,
20:13they didn't say they were coming here
20:15to occupy university buildings and vandalize them
20:18and tear them apart and hold campuses hostage.
20:22If they had told us that,
20:23we would never have given them a student visa.
20:25Now that they've done it, we will revoke those visas.
20:27And as the days go on,
20:28every time we have a chance to revoke them,
20:30we will, because it's not in the national interest
20:32of the United States for them to be here.
20:34Let's wrap up, guys, so we can get on.
20:36The 27th Joint Statement
20:38has some very strong language on China.
20:40Could you please describe the sentiment
20:43of the discussion behind closed door?
20:45And also, do you have anything on a potential meeting
20:48between President Trump and CCP Secretary General Xi Jinping?
20:52Will that be in China or in the United States?
20:55Well, I have no, I know,
20:57I think the President at some point will meet.
21:00They will meet.
21:01I don't know when that'll be.
21:02I don't know if there,
21:03I don't believe there are any plans currently
21:04for that to happen,
21:05but I'm sure it will happen at some point.
21:07The President engaged with him in his first term,
21:09and I expect he will do so again, and he should.
21:11These are the leaders of two big,
21:13important, powerful countries,
21:15and the leaders of powerful countries,
21:16whether they agree on things or not,
21:18should communicate for the safety
21:20and well-being of the world.
21:21As far as the statement is concerned,
21:23I think it reflects a growing acknowledgement
21:26that the Chinese Communist Party
21:30has pursued both economic and foreign policies
21:32that allow them to benefit from all the good things
21:35about the global order,
21:36but ignore all of its responsibilities
21:38in ways that leave us in danger
21:42of being, not just us, but the broader world,
21:44of being overly dependent on China
21:45for critical supply chains,
21:47for rare earth minerals, for key technologies.
21:51In the case of Europe,
21:52you'll continue to hear a lot of frustration
21:54on their part that Chinese overproduction,
21:57for example, of electric vehicles
21:58are dumped into their economies,
22:00and so guess what they have done?
22:02They have imposed tariffs.
22:04You know what Canada did?
22:05They've imposed tariffs on China as well,
22:08because that's what countries do
22:09when they feel like they're being treated
22:10unfairly in trade and commerce,
22:12and we support them in doing that.
22:14We think that was the right choice in their regard,
22:16and we've imposed tariffs on China as well.
22:18All right.
22:19Is there an answer?
22:20Who had a question?
22:21Yes, sir.
22:22Would the U.S. be open to an agreement
22:23with Hamas to get American hostages released,
22:26separate from the Israeli hostages,
22:28like including the Adana and Xander?
22:30Well, I think our priority always,
22:32as the U.S. government,
22:33is that we care about all the hostages.
22:34We want all the hostages released.
22:36We believe they should all be released, okay?
22:38And that, by the way, we talk about hostages.
22:40We're also talking about bodies, okay?
22:42And these trades are being made,
22:43and they're ridiculous trades.
22:44Talk about 400 people for three.
22:46These are nuts.
22:47And on top of that, you see the condition
22:49these people are being released in.
22:51This is, think about what we're talking about here.
22:53I mean, we're sitting around as the world
22:55sort of accepting that it's normal and okay
22:57for you to go into a place,
22:59kidnap babies, kidnap teenagers,
23:01kidnap people that have nothing to do with any wars,
23:03that are not soldiers, that are not anything,
23:05and taking them and putting them in tunnels
23:07for almost a year and a half.
23:08And we're acting like if this is a normal exchange,
23:11this is a normal thing that happens.
23:12This is an outrage.
23:13So they should all be released.
23:14So I'm not gonna comment on what we're gonna accept
23:17or not accept, other than all of us.
23:19The whole world should continue to say
23:21that what Hamas has done is outrageous.
23:23It's ridiculous.
23:24It's sick.
23:25It's disgusting.
23:26It should never have happened.
23:27And we shouldn't accept it as normal,
23:29as a normal negotiation.
23:31We're just dealing with some savages.
23:32That's it.
23:33These are bad people, terrible people,
23:35and we need to treat them as such.
23:37But that said, we want all the hostages out.
23:39Is there an offering for this trade war?
23:41Mr. Secretary, there was a report
23:43that was required of the State Department
23:45as one of the first executive orders
23:47asking for countries to be identified
23:49that had insufficient vetting.
23:51Has that report gone over to the White House yet?
23:54I'm sure if it, you mean we had a deadline to meet that.
23:57I'm sure we've met the deadline,
23:59but I have to take that back.
24:00We can get you an answer for that specifically.
24:02Is there an offering for the trade war, Mr. Secretary?
24:04Can I follow up about territorial integrity?
24:05About what?
24:07Yeah, you already asked it, yeah.
24:08Yeah, so you said that Ukraine
24:10would have to make concessions both sides.
24:12So will Russia, right.
24:13What is your description of territorial integrity
24:15when it comes to Ukraine?
24:17Guys, again, that's what we're gonna have,
24:19let's please, I get it.
24:21But let me just put it to you this way.
24:23There's two processes here.
24:25Process number one is how can we get shooting to stop?
24:28Because we think it's very difficult to negotiate peace
24:30while there's still shooting going on and attacks.
24:33What can we do to get that to stop to the extent possible?
24:36How can we get as much hostility as possible to stop
24:39so we can get to phase two of this process,
24:41which is negotiating these things that you're asking me about?
24:44I'm just stating the obvious.
24:45When people sit down and negotiate an end to wars,
24:48there's usually a give and take.
24:50What that give and take is
24:51depends on the parties that are at the table.
24:53We're not gonna predetermine anything,
24:55but that's what it's gonna take to end the war.
24:57If there's an off-ramp on the trade,
24:58it's not about an off-ramp on the trade,
25:00there's not a trade war.
25:01This is the United States
25:02is resetting its trade relations globally, okay?
25:06And resetting relations globally to a level of equilibrium,
25:11to a level of reciprocity.
25:13And then once that's reset,
25:15we can then engage in the process of bilateral talks
25:19with Japan, with the UK, with France,
25:21with Germany, with the EU, whoever,
25:23to figure out, okay, how do we reset our trade relations
25:26so that it's fair?
25:27Because right now it's not fair.
25:29It's as simple as that.
25:30That president has stated that repeatedly.
25:32And so these are the steps that it takes
25:33to get us to that point.
25:35You can't, if you do it the other way,
25:37which is let's renegotiate,
25:39why would they renegotiate their trade relationship
25:41with the United States
25:42if the status quo was beneficial to them?
25:44Why would someone give up something that's good for them?
25:47You have to make it fair,
25:48and then you can negotiate out,
25:50how do we get to a place that's mutually beneficial?
25:52Because the current piece of it is just not sustainable.
25:55All right?
25:56I'll get rid of it with Elon Musk.
25:57Thank you guys.
26:01Thank you, sir.