Kevin O’Leary does not think President Donald Trump has gone far enough with “Liberation Day” tariffs against China.
The “Shark Tank” host specifically pointed to China while appearing on CNN and stated the current tariffs on the nation simply are not high enough. O’Leary suggested that “104% tariffs on China are not enough” and that Trump should crank up the number by a couple hundred more percent.
“I’m advocating 400%,” he said. “I do business in China. They don’t play by the rules. They’ve been in the WTO for decades. They have never abided by any of the rules they agreed to when they came in, for decades. They cheat, they steal, they steal IP, I can’t litigate in their courts. They take product technology, they steal it, they manufacture it and sell it back here.”
Watch the Canadian businessman and TV personality’s CNN appearance below:
He continued: “I want Xi on an airplane to Washington to level the playing field. It’s just not about tariffs anymore. Nobody has taken on China yet … As someone who actually does business there, I’ve had enough.”
On Wednesday, Trump announced a 90-day pause on tariffs against 75 countries that reached out to negotiate with the U.S. He reduced all the tariffs for the compliant countries to 10% while ratcheting up China’s tariff to 125%.
“Based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the World’s Markets, I am hereby raising the Tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125%, effective immediately,” he wrote on Truth Social. “At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off the U.S.A., and other Countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable.”
Following news of the pause, the stock market rebounded with the S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow Jones all showing healthy Wednesday gains.
Watch the full CNN clip above.
