‘America First does not mean America alone’

00:00 Speaker A

I wish to be clear, America First does not mean America alone. To the contrary, it is a call for deeper collaboration and mutual respect among trade partners. Far from stepping back, America First seeks to expand US leadership in international institutions like the IMF and the World Bank. By embracing a stronger leadership role, America First seeks to restore fairness to the international economic system. Nowhere is the imbalance I mentioned earlier more obvious than in the world of trade. That’s why the United States is taking action now to rebalance global commerce. For decades, successive administrations relied on faulty assumptions that our trading partners would implement policies that would drive a balanced global economy. Instead, we face the stark reality of large and persistent US deficits as a result of an unfair trading system. Intentional policy choices by other countries have hollowed out America’s manufacturing sector and undermined our critical supply chains, putting our national and economic security at risk. President Trump has taken strong actions to address these imbalances and the negative impacts they have on Americans. The status quo of large and persistent imbalances is not sustainable. It is not sustainable for the United States and ultimately, it is not sustainable for other economies.