Commerce Secretary says even if there is a recession, tariffs are worth it

The commerce secretary kept his eyes on the prize as questions about White House policies leading to recession found him encouraging, “Let the dealmaker make his deals.”

After tempering 40-year-high inflation and record-breaking gas prices under then-President Joe Biden, corporate media’s interest in administration decisions impacting the economy is once again piqued with President Donald Trump in office. However, fervor to talk up a recent dip in the market was no reason to portend doom, according to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, as he suggested “even a short-term recession” would be “worth it” in the long run.

During an interview with CBS News White House correspondent Nancy Cordes on Tuesday, the cabinet official joined “CBS Evening News” after the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped some 2.5% since Thursday amid an escalating tariff dispute with Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

“The markets are going to learn, let the dealmaker make his deals,” said Lutnick, who was asked, “What is really being accomplished with all of these one- or two-day tariffs that end up getting yanked?”

“When you’re negotiating with someone and they’re not paying attention, and they’re disagreeing, the president — who’s the best dealmaker ever to sit in that chair — is going to say, ‘Here’s my response.’ And then all of a sudden, shockingly, they respond,” asserted the secretary.

President Trump will not double tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum imports after Canada agreed to drop its 25% electricity export surcharge, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said. “Let the deal maker make his deals,” Lutnick told CBS News’ @NancyCordes.… pic.twitter.com/NvWcS5CL2B

— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) March 11, 2025

Cordes went on to ask, “Will these policies be worth it if they lead to a recession, even a short-term recession?”

“These policies are the most important thing America has ever had,” he assured as she pressed, “So, it is worth it?”

“It is worth it… the only reason there could possibly be a recession is because of the Biden nonsense that we had to live with. These policies produce revenues,” added Lutnick, who insisted, “It is not chaotic. And the only one who thinks it’s chaotic is someone who’s being silly.

Trump himself spoke to the potential of things getting slightly worse before improvements would be felt as he spoke with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday about an expected “period of transition.”

“I hate to predict things like that,” he expressed on the possibility of a recession. “There is a period of transition because what we’re doing is very big. We’re bringing wealth back to America. That’s a big thing…it takes a little time, but I think it should be great for us.”

To Lutnick’s point on the president’s dealmaking, not only did Ford backed down from threatening to shut off the electricity for roughly 1.5 million residents of Michigan, Minnesota and New York, he also withdrew the threat of a 25% surcharge after Trump countered with an additional tariff on all steel and aluminum imported from Canada, bring the rate to 50%.

“I want to apologize to the American people,” Ford said during an interview on WABC. “I spent 20 years of my life in the US, in New Jersey, in Chicago. I love the American people. I absolutely love them.”

“We’re going to get through this. We’re stronger together. We’ll always be united,” the premier went on while adding, “Secretary Lutnick and President Trump are brilliant businesspeople. They are hard negotiators. We need to put this behind us and move forward and build the two strongest countries in the world.”

The full interview with Lutnick can be viewed below via YouTube:

(Video Credit: CBS Evening News)

Staff Writer

Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn’t researching current events and their impacts, you’ll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.

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