During the Fox Business Network debate, Donald Trump said he knows "so much about business in China," and is "open to a tariff if they don't treat us fairly."
"They do it to us, it's not fair trade," he said. Trump said that now, "political hacks" are dealing with China on trade, and "we need to use smart people to negotiate." He said he has many friends who "don't want to deal with China" because "when we do business with China, they tax us." Between the United States and China, "we don't have equal playing fields," he added, and "we don't have to continue to lose $505 billion as a trade deficit for the privilege of trading with China."
A few of his fellow Republican presidential candidates chimed in, with Ohio Gov. John Kasich saying it's time to "demand open trade, but fair trade in this country," and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio arguing "China doesn't pay the tariff, the buyer pays the tariff," and "the best thing we can do to protect ourselves is to make the economy stronger."
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