Kevin O’Leary isn’t holding back on China. The “Shark Tank” star says they could be “virtually screwed” if they don’t come to the table. He’s pushing for steep tariffs, saying even 100% would crush trade.
“The big behemoth story we’ve been talking about so much is China,” O’Leary said. “We’ve got to figure out where they sit in trying to come into the narrative.” He added, “Xi, at some point, has to take the olive branch that’s been offered twice over the weekend by Trump.”
Tariffs were raised to 125% under Trump’s executive orders. But some goods—like smartphones and laptops—got exemptions. Customs and Border Protection clarified the exemptions last Friday.
O’Leary’s stance is tough. He’s long said China should bear the brunt of Trump’s trade war. And he doesn’t think selling off U.S. Treasury securities will help them.
“[Xi Jinping] doesn’t have the option to sell T-bills,” O’Leary explained. “That will enhance the price of his currency and make his products even less competitive worldwide. That will devastate his economy, which is already on the brink.”
“He doesn’t have that leverage. That’s just pure economics,” he continued. “If you start stumping T-bills, dollar goes down. His currency goes up and he’s virtually screwed.”
O’Leary says the U.S. has the stronger hand. “All that stuff that’s made in the factories, almost 39% of it’s consumed by Americans,” he said. “If [Jinping] can’t sell the stuff, those people don’t have jobs. And that’s gonna be a bad outcome for him, really bad outcome, and he knows it.”