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JEPI ETF put to the ultimate test: is it beating VOO and SPY?

3 Mins Read

Popular boomer candy ETFs like the JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPI) are in the spotlight this year as the stock market goes through turmoil. Most stocks have crashed, with the S&P 500 index nearing a bear market, where an asset tumbles by 20% from a local top. This article explores why the JEP ETF is beating popular S&P 500 funds like SPY and VOO.

What is the JEP ETF?

JEPI is a popular exchange-traded fund that aims to provide regular dividend payouts to investors and expose them to quality blue-chip companies.

It uses a relatively simple approach that other covered call ETFs like JEPQ and SPYI have now emulated. 

The fund invests in a group of quality blue-chip companies like Apple, Microsoft, NVDIA, and JPMorgan. 

It then uses a portion of its assets to sell call options on the S&P 500 index. A call option is a trade that gives an investor a right, but not the obligation, to buy an asset at a certain time, popularly known as the expiry period. 

The expiry period is the period when an option ends, and the trade becomes worthless if not executed. When it does this, the fund receives a premium, which is the price that the buyer pays to the seller of the call option to acquire he contract. This premium is usually quoted per share. 

The JEPI ETF makes money in three main ways. First, it benefits when the underlying stocks rise. Second, it receives the premium payment, which it then distributes to its investors through a monthly dividend. Third, it receives the dividend payouts from the underlying companies.

JEPI’s structure means that it always pays a higher dividend than the S&P 500 index. With the stock now sharply lower, its dividend yield has jumped to 8.34%, which is a good number. This means its investors receive monthly payments to offset the ETF’s crash. 

Is JEPI ETF beating the VOO and SPY ETFs this year?

JEPI vs S&P 500 total return in 2025

Covered call ETFs have attracted scrutiny in Wall Street over the years. One argument is that they constantly underperform the benchmark indices like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indices over time. 

Historically, JEPI has always underperformed the S&P 500 index regarding its price return. It has crashed by over 17% in the last three years, while the VOO ETF has jumped by almost 11% in the same period.

However, the spread narrows a bit when you look at the total return, including the monthly dividend checks. In this case, the S&P 500 index has risen by 11%, while the JEPI fund has jumped by 7.8%. This performance is likely because the index was in a strong uptrend after the pandemic. 

JEPI and VOO ETFs have plunged this year because of Donald Trump’s trade war. It has dropped by 11.1%, while the VOO fund has dropped by 15%.

Therefore, this performance means that it makes sense for S&P 500 ETF investors also to allocate some cash to JEPI for its regular dividends. 

The post JEPI ETF put to the ultimate test: is it beating VOO and SPY? appeared first on Invezz

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In World news

Maverick Metals Secures US$19 Million to Fast Track Metals Recovery Tech

3 Mins Read

Private specialty chemicals company Maverick Metals has raised US$19 million in a seed funding round led by Olive Tree Capital to accelerate the commercialization of its flagship lixiviant technology, LithX.

Unlike traditional acid-based processes, LithX enables cost-effective, ambient temperature leaching of refractory ores like chalcopyrite, unlocking metals previously considered uneconomical or too environmentally burdensome to process.

“As the US accelerates its push for domestic critical metals production, LithX provides a scalable, commercially viable path to securing essential materials,” said Eric Herrera, co-founder and CEO of Maverick.

The US$19 million funding round includes participation from high-profile investors such as Y Combinator, Hanwha Group, Liquid 2 Ventures, Nomadic Venture Partners, Soma Capital and TechNexus Venture Collaborative.

The capital will enable the company to expand pilot deployments in collaboration with major mining companies and scale its commercialization efforts.

Meeting rising metals demand with tech solutions

Global copper demand is expected to double by 2035, reaching approximately 50 million metric tons annually, driven largely by energy transition technologies, electric vehicles and infrastructure development.

But even as mining companies race to keep pace, challenges like declining ore grades, environmental restrictions and rising costs continue to limit production.

Maverick states that its proprietary lixiviant works at ambient temperatures and neutral pH levels, offering a safer, cheaper and more sustainable alternative to traditional acid leaching.

The technology enables the recovery not only of copper, but also valuable by-products such as molybdenum, gold, silver and even rare earths from a variety of unconventional sources — including tailings, smelter slag and coal fly ash.

According to Maverick, its LithX technology has demonstrated a range of benefits that could reshape the economics and the overall environmental footprint for metals processing.

For instance, the technology increases recovery rates at ambient temperatures, significantly reducing energy costs. It also eliminates the need for acid addition, offering a safer and more sustainable alternative to traditional methods.

In addition, Maverick notes that the process mitigates the risk of acid contamination and hazardous reagent exposure, enhancing worker safety — a key concern in traditional mining operations.

“We are pleased to announce our investment in and support of Maverick Metals,” said Nichola Eliovits, managing partner at Olive Tree Capital, in the company’s release. “We believe LithX has the potential to significantly increase the range of viable resources available to help alleviate global supply constraints.”

While copper remains a primary focus, LithX has shown versatility for a range of critical metals, such as high lithium extraction from spodumene and enhanced rare earths and gallium recovery from minerals like allanite and monazite.

Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

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In Politics

Trump trade rep takes bipartisan fire over tariffs as Dem launches bid to halt them

5 Mins Read

Wall Street rebounded into the green as multiple foreign countries came to the tariff negotiating table with President Donald Trump – but that was not enough to assuage some lawmakers’ critiques of the ‘alla prima’ tariff actions, as one Republican put it.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer testified Tuesday the U.S. has long-suffered from ‘China Shock’ – the surge in manufacturing outputs from the Communist nation since the turn of the century – and that the U.S. had to do something substantive but strategic about the 5 million manufacturing jobs lost and 90,000 factories closed since the middle of the Clinton administration.

‘President Biden left us with a $1.2 trillion trade deficit-in-goods – the largest of any country in the history of the world,’ Greer said.

‘During COVID, we were unable to procure semiconductors to build our cars or materials for pharmaceuticals and personal protective equipment. During World War II, we built nearly 9,000 ships. Last year, the United States built only three ocean-going vessels,’ he said.

Greer said the U.S. historically was on the surplus side of agriculture trade but that, as of late, purportedly friendly countries like Australia have essentially rejected beef and pork exports, while America has not reciprocated with their livestock.

That became a sore subject during a particularly heated exchange between Greer and Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., as the lawmaker claimed Trump unnecessarily ‘clobbered’ Canberra with a 10% tariff.

‘We have a free trade agreement with Australia,’ he said, questioning Trump’s ‘fancy Greek formula’ for determining tariffs.

Democrats and media figures previously mocked Trump for tariffing uninhabited Australian islands in the Indian Ocean – which Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick suggested over the weekend was to close any potential loophole to circumvent tariffs on such countries’ mainland.

Greer argued the ‘lowest rate available’ was imposed on Australia, leading Warner to ask again ‘why did they get whacked in the first place.’

‘Despite the [free trade] agreement, they ban our beef, they banned our pork, they’re getting ready to impose measures on our digital companies – It’s incredible,’ Greer said.

Warner later acknowledged markets had rebounded a ‘blip’ by midday but said a Wall Street contact equated it to a ‘good day in hospice.’

Meanwhile, during his opening remarks, Senate Finance Committee ranking member Ron Wyden said he has drafted a bipartisan resolution to ‘end the latest crop of global tariffs that are clobbering American families and small businesses.’

‘Members on both sides of the aisle ought to know that this is a call to action and Congress must step in to rein this president on trade,’ Wyden said.

He called the tariffs ‘aimless’ and ‘chaotic’ and said it showed Congress ceded the executive branch too much constitutional power.

In his testimony, Greer called trade imbalance an indicator of both an economic and national security emergency.

He also suggested America’s allies have been foisting unfair policies on the American consumer – including the European Union.

‘[They] can sell us all the shellfish they want, but the EU bans shellfish from 48 states. The result is a trade deficit in shellfish with the EU,’ he said.

‘We only charge a 2.5% tariff on ethanol, but Brazil charges us an 18% tariff. The result? We have a large trade deficit in ethanol with Brazil.’

‘Our average tariff on agricultural goods is 5%, but India’s average tariff is 39%. You understand the trend here.’

In response to some of Wyden’s concerns, Greer said Vietnam has already negotiated a lower tariff on U.S. cherries and apples exported from Oregon and the Northwest.

‘This is exactly the right direction that we want to go in,’ Greer said.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., struck a more middling tone on tariffs, saying that he has never been a ‘great fan of free trade,’ and cited his work ending NAFTA and opposing normalized relations with China.

He also cited the outsourcing of manufacturing to Mexico, saying it killed hundreds of thousands of American jobs and has many Mexican workers ‘living in cardboard boxes.’

‘That is the type of trade policy which I detest. But I want to move to an area, to talk about the legal basis of what President Trump has done,’ he said.

Sanders said he lives 50 miles from Canada and does not see the same empirical data on illegal immigration and fentanyl smuggling that Trump accused Ottawa of failing to act on – and incorporated into his tariff calculations.

On the Republican side, Chairman Michael Crapo, R-Idaho, was largely deferential to Trump and Greer, while some other Republicans voiced concerns.

Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa questioned whether Congress ‘delegated too much authority to the president’ but said he supports the president so long as his mission is to ‘turn tariffs into trade deals to reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers’ versus any plot to ‘feed the U.S. Treasury through them.’

‘I made very clear throughout my public service that I’m a free and fair trader. The Constitution gives Congress the authority to regulate interstate and foreign commerce. I believe that Congress delegated too much authority to the president in the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and Trade Act of 1974,’ he said.

Additionally, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., pressed Greer on who should be considered the person that will take ultimately responsibility for either praise or accountability depending on the outcome of the tariff actions.

‘Whose throat do I have to choke,’ he said, underlining that the phrase was borrowed from a management consulting mantra.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

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In Stocks

SCHD ETF: Top 3 reasons to buy the dip of this dividend stock

3 Mins Read

The Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) has crashed and moved into a correction in the past few days as jitters on trade escalated. It tumbled to a low of $24 on Monday, its lowest level since February 9. This article explains why it makes sense to buy and hold the SCHD ETF dip.

SCHD dividend yield is rising

The SCHD ETF is a popular fund that investors buy because of its long track record of dividends. It has one of the best track records regarding dividend growth in the stock market. Data shows that the ten-year compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of the fund in the past decade stands at over 13%.

The benefit of buying the SCHD fund dip is that its dividend yield rises as the stock crashes, offseting some of the losses. For starters, the dividend yield is calculated by dividing the annual dividend per share by the price per share and then multiplying by 100. 

Therefore, if the price per share falls and the annual dividend remains the same, the yield increases. That’s because the dividend yield becomes a larger percentage of the lower share price.

This explains why the dividend yield of the SCHD ETF has continued rising in the past few days as the stock crashed. It now has a yield of about 4.1%, higher than where it was earlier this year when it surged to a record high. 

It also explains why popular stock ETFs like those that track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indices have a tiny dividend yield.

Exposure to US tariffs

The other reason to buy the SCHD stock dip is that Donald Trump’s tariffs will not substantially affect many companies in the fund. Ideally, the most exposed companies are those that are in the cross-border trading industry. 

The biggest component of the SCHD fund is financials, a sector that is largely immune to these tariffs. The top financials companies in this fund are Fifth Third Bancorp, Cincinnati Financial Corp, Regions Financial, Comerica, and Columbia Banking System.

Trump has not applied any tariffs on services, and many of these companies are domestic ones. Therefore, tariffs in themselves will not affect them. It may affect them if the US goes into a recession, leading to another crisis in the regional banking industry.

These tariffs will not impact the other top SCHD ETF constituents. Verizon, the biggest component, is a telecom company that offers essential services in the US. Customers will not cancel their subscriptions even if the US move into a recession. 

Other top SCHD firms like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, ConocoPhilips, Chevron, Altria, Amgen, and Bristol Myers Squibb will not be impacted since they offer essential services.

Stocks will recover after the panic

Fear and greed index chart

The other reason to buy the Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF applies to other US stocks as well. Historically, these assets tend to bounce back after the initial panic. For example, they crashed after the COVID-19 pandemic, dot com bubble, the Great Financial Crisis (GFC), and the Great Depression.

Therefore, there is a likelihood that the same will happen this time. That will happen if the Federal Reserve starts cutting interest rates and if the US negotiates with other countries like Japan, China, and the European Union. Remember that Trump views the stock market as the most visible gauge of his performance as the president.

The post SCHD ETF: Top 3 reasons to buy the dip of this dividend stock appeared first on Invezz

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In World news

PH Govt confirms MMCI’s Financial Capability, MPSA Now Permanent

3 Mins Read

Celsius Resources Limited (“Celsius” or “CLA”) (ASX, AIM: CLA) is pleased to announce that its Philippine affiliate, Makilala Mining Company, Inc. (“MMCI” or the “Company”), has received formal confirmation from the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources (“DENR”) that it has satisfied the final financial compliance requirement under its Mineral Production Sharing Agreement for the Maalinao-Caigutan-Biyog Copper-Gold Project (“MCB” or the “Project”)1.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • The Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR has formally accepted the binding term sheet which outlines the key terms of a bridge loan facility between Maharlika Investment Corporation (MIC) and Makilala Mining Company, Inc. (MMCI) as sufficient proof of financial capability.
  • This confirmation marks MMCI’s full compliance with the remaining provisional requirements of the Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) for the MCB Copper-Gold Project, locking the MPSA for a full 25 years, renewable for another 25.

This follows the DENR’s acceptance of the binding term sheet which outlines the key terms of a bridge loan facility of up to USD76.4 million, executed between MMCI and Maharlika Investment Corporation (“MIC”), a government-owned and controlled corporation, in February 20252 (“Binding Term Sheet”). The Binding Term Sheet was evaluated and endorsed by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (“MGB”) which noted that:

  • The Binding Term Sheet provides a structured and credible financial mechanism for MMCI’s mining operations; and
  • The involvement of MIC significantly enhances MMCI’s financial standing and credibility, offering strong assurance of continued support.

MMCI is expected to submit all related and forthcoming financial documents to the DENR and MGB and to update its Three-Year Development/Utilisation Work Program accordingly, in line with the terms of the MPSA and DENR Administrative Order No. 2010-213.

Celsius Executive Chairman Atty. Julito R. Sarmiento, said:

“We are extremely pleased to have achieved this important regulatory milestone for the MCB Project. The acceptance of the Binding Term Sheet by the DENR and the MGB is not only a testament to MMCI’s commitment to responsible and well-funded development, but also reflects the strong support and credibility provided by our partnership with Maharlika Investment Corporation.

On behalf of CLA and MMCI’s management and staff, again, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to MIC for their confidence and catalytic funding support to the Project, and to the DENR and MGB for their professionalism and guidance throughout the compliance process.

We remain committed to ensuring that the MCB project delivers lasting and sustainable economic benefits to our host communities, particularly in Balatoc, the Municipality of Pasil, and the Province of Kalinga, as well as meaningful contributions to national development, all while upholding environmental stewardship and shared prosperity.

Now that we have fulfilled our compliance with the conditions of the Mineral Production Sharing Agreement, we are in a strong position to proceed with mine development and construction. We remain steadfast on our commitment to sustainable development by balancing resource efficiency with environmental stewardship and social responsibility.”

MIC and MMCI will now proceed with signing the Omnibus Loan and Security Agreements (“Agreements”) reflecting the terms of the Binding Term Sheet signed with MIC in February 2025.

Click here for the full ASX Release

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

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In Politics

DOGE helps State Department eliminate Biden admin’s DEI performance evaluation requirement

3 Mins Read

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the State Department called out practices under the Biden administration that required diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts to account for 20% of performance evaluations for foreign service officers.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the reforms of the Biden administration’s DEI policies ‘important and historic.’

‘Now our incredible Foreign Service Officers will be evaluated on true merit, not on arbitrary immutable characteristics,’ he wrote on X.

Rubio shared a post from DOGE, which noted that under the policy, diplomats were assessed on whether they avoided ‘gendered adjectives’ or ‘faint praise.’

The department shared PowerPoint slides providing examples of phrases to avoid.

One of the slides gave descriptive phrases that can unintentionally influence a reader. It then gave examples of gendered adjectives like, ‘Dr. Sarah Gray is a caring compassionate physician’ vs. ‘Dr. Joel Gray has been very successful with his patients.’

Faint praise was also discouraged. One example the slide provided was, ‘S/he worked hard on projects that s/he was assigned’ or ‘S/he has never had temper tantrums.’

The slides discouraged using first names for women or minorities and titles for men, as well.

Additionally, as DOGE pointed out in its post, the slides asked local organizations to promote diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) programs, training and lectures as well as annual DEIA awards ceremonies.

The foreign service officers were also encouraged to set race and gender quotas on embassy speaking panels and other diplomatic events.

‘Working with DOGE, [Secretary Rubio] has ended this discrimination and restored merit to the foreign service,’ DOGE wrote.

The elimination of the DEIA requirement on performance evaluations for foreign service officers comes a week after the Trump administration slashed $15 million from the Institute of Museum and Library Services in the form of DEI grants to align with DOGE and President Donald Trump’s executive orders aimed at eliminating DEI from the federal government.

The grants include $6.7 million to the California State Library to enhance equitable library programs and $4 million to the Washington State Library for diverse staff development and incarcerated support. 

A $1.5M DEI grant to the Connecticut State Library system to ‘integrate social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion’ into their daily operations is also being cut along with $700,000 for a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit to study ‘post-pandemic DEI practices’ in American children’s museums that would formulate ‘enhanced equity-focused strategies.’

Trump’s DOGE efforts have saved the American taxpayer $140 billion, according to its website, which represents about $870 saved per taxpayer.

The Trump administration says it has slashed hundreds of millions of dollars in DEI contracts, including at least $100 million at the Department of Education.

Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

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In Stocks

DAX, FTSE MIB, AEX, IBEX 35, SMI indices crashed: buy the dip?

4 Mins Read

The DAX index continued its strong downward trend on Monday as investors dumped their global equities as risks jumped. It slumped to a low of €18,900, its lowest level since September 12 last year. It has plummeted by more than 17% from the highest point this year.

The German DAX’s crash has mirrored the performance of other global indices. In Europe, the CAC 40 index dropped by 5.65% on Monday, while the Euro Stoxx 50 moved downwards by 6%. Other indices like AEX, FTSE MIB, and Swiss Market Index (SMI) also dived by over 5%.

Donald Trump adamant about tariffs

Top indices like the German DAX, Swiss SMI, Italy’s FTSE MIB, and the French CAC 40 dropped as Donald Trump remained adamant about the US tariffs on other countries. In a Truth Social post, Trump lamented about the substantially high trade deficit the US has with the European Union. 

Data shows that the US had a goods trade deficit worth over $235 billion with the EU last year, a 12.9% increase from a year earlier. However, the trade deficit narrows substantially when services are included. The US had a service surplus of over $109 billion in 2023, meaning that the overall surplus deficit is less than $60 billion. 

Also, the numbers don’t factor the fact that many US companies do a lot of business in Europe. Some of these firms are Procter & Gamble, Apple, Microsoft, and Colgate-Palmolive.

Trump insists that his tariffs are necessary to reduce these tariffs, which he believes are unsustainable. However, analysts worry that his thinking is flawed. For one, his basis for the 20% tariff he imposed on Europe was wrong.

Instead of imposing a real reciprocal tariff, Trump simply calculated the trade deficit, divided it with the total exports to the US, and then multiplied it with 100. He then divided the final figure with 2, coming up with 20%, a figure that economists and non-economists believe is flawed.

At the same time, a trade deficit is not necessarily a bad thing. A deficit is calculated by subtracting imports from exports. The challenge is that the US imports so much without selling more goods.

One way to lower the deficit would be to boost exports, which is highly unlikely because of the high labor costs and regulations. 

Top DAX, IBEX 35, FTSE MIB, and SMI indices laggards

Most companies in the DAX, IBEX 35, FTSE MIB, and the SMI indices have crashed as investors predict a recession in the both sides of the Atlantic. The most affected companies are those that do a lot of the Atlantic. 

Infineon, a top semiconductor in the DAX index, has plunged by over 22% in the last week because of its exposure to the US, which accounts for 10% of its total sales.  The other top laggards in the DAX are firms like Siemens, Adidas, Siemens Energy, Mercedes Benz, and Volkswagen. 

The top laggards in the IBEX 35 are companies like Repsol, ArceloMittal, IAG, and Bankiter, and Amadeus were among the top laggards. 

Is it safe to buy the dip in these European indices?

Analysts are questioning whether this is the best time to buy the dip in European indices like the German DAX, IBEX 35, FTSE MIB, and Swiss Market Index (SMI).

Most strategists believe that many of these indices will bounce back later this year once the market exits the extreme fear zone. Many of them recommend staying on the sidelines until the market stabilizes. Others recommend using the dollar cost averaging approach, which involves buying the dip slowly as the dip intensifies. 

They believe that these indices will ultimately bounce back once the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank (ECB) intervenes.

The post DAX, FTSE MIB, AEX, IBEX 35, SMI indices crashed: buy the dip? appeared first on Invezz

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In Business

Buffett denies rumors after Trump shares wild claim that investor backs president crashing market

3 Mins Read

Warren Buffett went on the record Friday to deny social media posts after President Donald Trump shared on Truth Social a fan video that claimed the president is tanking the stock market on purpose with the endorsement of the legendary investor.

Trump on Friday shared an outlandish social media video that defends his recent policy decisions by arguing he is deliberately taking down the market as a strategic play to force lower interest and mortgage rates.

“Trump is crashing the stock market by 20% this month, but he’s doing it on purpose,” alleged the video, which Trump posted on his Truth Social account.

The video’s narrator then falsely states, “And this is why Warren Buffett just said, ‘Trump is making the best economic moves he’s seen in over 50 years.’”

The president shared a link to an X post from the account @AmericaPapaBear, a self-described “Trumper to the end.” The X post itself appears to be a repost of a weeks-old TikTok video from user @wnnsa11. The video has been shared more than 2,000 times on Truth Social and nearly 10,000 times on X.

Buffett, 94, didn’t single out any specific posts, but his conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway outright rejected all comments claimed to be made by him.

“There are reports currently circulating on social media (including Twitter, Facebook and Tik Tok) regarding comments allegedly made by Warren E. Buffett. All such reports are false,” the company said in a statement Friday.

CNBC’s Becky Quick spoke to Buffett Friday about this statement and he said he wanted to knock down misinformation in an age where false rumors can be blasted around instantaneously. Buffett told Quick that he won’t make any commentary related to the markets, the economy or tariffs between now and Berkshire’s annual meeting on May 3.

While Buffett hasn’t spoken about this week’s imposition of sweeping tariffs from the Trump administration, his view on such things has pretty much always been negative. Just in March, the Berkshire CEO and chairman called tariffs “an act of war, to some degree.”

“Over time, they are a tax on goods. I mean, the tooth fairy doesn’t pay ’em!” Buffett said in the news interview with a laugh. “And then what? You always have to ask that question in economics. You always say, ‘And then what?’”

During Trump’s first term, Buffett opined at length in 2018 and 2019 about the trade conflicts that erupted, warning that the Republican’s aggressive moves could cause negative consequences globally.

“If we actually have a trade war, it will be bad for the whole world … everything intersects in the world,” Buffett said in a CNBC interview in 2019. “A world that adjusts to something very close to free trade … more people will live better than in a world with significant tariffs and shifting tariffs over time.”

Buffett has been in a defensive mode over the past year as he rapidly dumped stocks and raised a record amount of cash exceeding $300 billion. His conglomerate has a big U.S. focus and has large businesses in insurance, railroads, manufacturing, energy and retail.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

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Kevin Hassett doubles down on Trump tariffs, says dozens of countries are asking to negotiate

2 Mins Read

White House Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett doubled down on the effectiveness of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Sunday, saying dozens of countries are now seeking to open negotiations and U.S. manufacturing is booming.

Hassett made the claim during an appearance on ABC News’ ‘This Week’ with host George Stephanopoulos. He said that over 50 countries have already said they want to negotiate new trade agreements with Trump’s administration since the tariffs hit last week, though he acknowledged there may be short-term pain for consumers.

He pointed to the decrease in prices that has existed since China entered the World Trade Organization in 2000, arguing that the loss of jobs outweighs the low prices.

‘If cheap goods were the answer, if cheap goods were going to make Americans’ real wages better off, then real incomes would have gone up over that time. Instead, they went down because wages went down more than prices went down. So we got the cheap goods at the grocery store, but then we had fewer jobs,’ he said.

Hassett added that he has received ‘anecdotal word’ that some U.S. auto plants are adding second shifts to their work schedules in response to the tariffs.

Stephanopoulos then pressed Hassett to explain why Russia wasn’t targeted with any additional tariffs.

‘There’s obviously an ongoing negotiation with Russia and Ukraine, and I think the president made the decision not to conflate the two issues. It doesn’t mean that Russia in the fullness of time, is going to be treated wildly different than every other country,’ Hassett responded.

‘But Russia’s one of the only countries, one of few countries that is not subject to these new tariffs, aren’t they?’ Stephanopoulos pressed.

‘They’re in the middle of a negotiation, George, aren’t they?’ Hassett countered. ‘Would you literally advise that you go in and put a whole bunch of new things on the table in the middle of a negotiation that affects so many American and Ukrainian and Russian lives?’

‘Negotiators do that all the time,’ Stephanopoulos argued.

‘Russia is in the midst of negotiations over peace that affects really thousands and thousands of lives of people and that’s what President Trump’s focused on right now,’ Hassett said.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

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