Biden Commerce Sec. Raimondo: Trump's Steel Tariffs Were 'Effective'

Appearing Thursday on MSNBC, Biden Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said former President Donald Trump’s tariffs on cheap steel and aluminum have been “effective.”

A partial transcript is as follows:

STEPHANIE RUHLE: To clarify two things that you said you mentioned: dumping cheap steel and aluminum. Former President Trump then put tariffs on those things being imported into this country. Do you plan to keep those tariffs in place?

SEC. GINA RAIMONDO: The data show that those tariffs have been effective. And I think what President Biden has said is we’re going to have a whole-of-government review of all of these policies and decide what it makes sense to maintain.

RUHLE: From a national security perspective, do you plan to target specific businesses like a TikTok, like a Huawei? Which again, President Trump got a lot of credit, talked a big game, but if you actually look at what he did, it really wasn’t anything.

SEC. RAIMONDO: Yes, like you mentioned, Huawei, ZTE, their are Chinese telecommunications companies, if you look at their behavior, they deserve to be targeted.