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Governor Hutchinson Says Trump’s Call To Exit China ‘Would Be A Mistake’

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (TB&P) — On Friday (Aug. 23), President Donald Trump called on American businesses to withdraw operations from China as the trade war betw...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (TB&P) — On Friday (Aug. 23), President Donald Trump called on American businesses to withdraw operations from China as the trade war between the U.S. and the Asian giant escalated. Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who has helped negotiate six Chinese companies to locate in Arkansas, said Saturday that disengaging from the Chinese economy “cannot be done without devastating impact.”

Trump tweeted on Friday:

“Our Country has lost, stupidly, Trillions of Dollars with China over many years. They have stolen our Intellectual Property at a rate of Hundreds of Billions of Dollars a year, & they want to continue. I won’t let that happen! We don’t need China and, frankly, would be far better off without them. The vast amounts of money made and stolen by China from the United States, year after year, for decades, will and must STOP.

“Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing your companies HOME and making your products in the USA. I will be responding to China’s Tariffs this afternoon. This is a GREAT opportunity for the United States.

“Also, I am ordering all carriers, including Fed Ex, Amazon, UPS and the Post Office, to SEARCH FOR & REFUSE, all deliveries of Fentanyl from China (or anywhere else!). Fentanyl kills 100,000 Americans a year. President Xi said this would stop – it didn’t. Our Economy, because of our gains in the last 2 1/2 years, is MUCH larger than that of China. We will keep it that way!”

In response to China raising tariffs on U.S. goods, Trump also said he was raising existing tariffs of 25% on certain Chinese goods to 30% and raising tariffs on another round of Chinese products from 10% to 15%.

To read more of this story, visit our content partner Talk Business & Politics.

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