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Howard Lutnick: “President Trump does deals like a staircase. First stair…”

Featuring: Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Commerce | National

Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026

Published January 8, 2026 | Video Starts at 37:59

Because I have a lot of other countries doing things and if someone else is first, they're first. And President Trump does deals like a staircase. First stair gets the best deal. You can't get the best deal after the first guy win. Everyone says, I want the UK deal, I want the UK deal. The answer is no. They were first. (37:59–38:07)

CLAIM

Asserts that President Trump's trade deals are structured to incentivize early participation by offering better terms to the first participants.

This is an excerpt from a raw transcript. The assertions have not been audited or verified. Tap the video to view the source footage and understand the context.

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Howard Lutnick

“We put GDP out on the blockchain.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 11:33-11:36
“In 1985, we had net ownership of the rest of the world. We were net an investor of $148 billion.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 15:37-15:58
“Fast forward to 20, 24, 26 trillion. The other way. They own 26 trillion of us.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 16:01-16:12
“The tariffs are 500 billion a year now, and they will grow over time to a trillion a year.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 34:40-34:48
“These drug companies make 75% of their revenues in America and it's 100% of their profits.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 44:27-44:34
“The CHIPS Act had $52 billion because we make no chips in America.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 1:10:53-1:11:00
“America owns 10% of Intel.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 1:21:50-1:21:53
“They [China] dump them [electric cars] and they take the electric car, which cost them 30,000, and they sell it in Europe for 15,000.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 01:04-27:46
“We cut 20%. I walked in the door here with 52,000 people in this department, and now there's 40,000 people in this department.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 05:25-05:35
“We had programs that just were like, this program was started in 1978.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 05:49-05:55
“We had a department that was supporting advanced manufacturing set up in 1986.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 05:57-06:04
“There's two types of tariffs. There's general tariffs. That's in front of the Supreme Court.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 07:51-07:57
“Those that are specific, industry specific, are in this building.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 08:00-08:05
“We don't want to sell our best chips to our adversaries.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 08:16-08:21
“They also control the auto tariffs, the steel tariffs, pharmaceuticals.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 08:44-08:50
“It's been insanely successful driving down the price of pharmaceuticals in America.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 08:50-08:57
“We help companies sell things around the world.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 09:14-09:20
“We help states sort of bring in business to build and grow here.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 09:21-09:27
“We have the AI, the center for AI Advancement.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 10:23-10:30
“I have now the Office of Space Commerce, which I've taken out of NOAA and then put in my office.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 12:48-12:55
“The president, in his first term, he's been talking about tariffs and how the trade deficit of the United States of America is really a…”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 13:35-13:49
“The president on the campaign trail had two views...universal tariff or a specific country by country tariff.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 18:27-18:49
“We settled on a country specific model. Much more complex, much more difficult, but much more nuanced, much more clever and much tougher.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 18:59-19:12
“This administration came in with incredibly sharp people, me included, Jameson, Greer, Scott Bessen, who were on side, on board driving for…”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 19:36-19:51
“The Japanese market for cars, as an example, 94% of cars driven in Japan are Japanese.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 20:45-20:54
“The Japanese government subsidizes the machinery that went to small manufacturers.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 22:06-22:21
“We set steel and aluminum tariffs.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 23:24-23:27
“Chinese give their power to the steel producer free.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 23:29-23:38
“We start with 40 steel blast furnaces. Now we have 10.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 24:18-24:25
“Donald Trump says, we need steel, we need aluminum, we need copper, we need to make our own semiconductors, we need to make our own…”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 24:46-24:57
“The Chinese economy is one of overproduction.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 26:28-26:34
“China does not have oil and natural gas, so they have to build electric because they have coal.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 26:54-27:01
“If we blink, [China] will sell below cost in America and drive our domestic companies out of business.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 29:21-29:31
“If Europe doesn't make batteries and they say have all EV cars by 2030, then who are they going to buy the batteries from? They have to buy…”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 29:48-30:02
“What we came up with was $550 billion that this is not foreign direct investment. This is not Toyota building a factory in America. They…”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 31:44-32:06
“We want to build $100 billion of nuclear plants, they will pay for it.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 32:07-32:13
“The only bank the United States of America has, as far as like the Secretary of Commerce sees, is called Treasury.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 33:50-33:58
“All the tariff money goes into Treasury. All this money just goes into Treasury. So it reduces our deficit.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 34:01-34:09
“We should be able to reduce the tax burden from the bottom up.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 35:32-35:38
“Help Americans who make less than $150,000, who earn overtime, who earn tips.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 35:38-35:46
“That's 85% of America.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 35:49-35:52
“The richest country in the world should be able to give people retirement at 65.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 36:38-36:42
“We got Europe done, right? We did Japan, then I did Europe, then we did Korea, and we've done country after country after country.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 43:10-43:20
“We did Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam. We announced a whole bunch of deals.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 43:12-43:12
“These are durable, meaning these are deals that take care of the country's autos, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, things that really…”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 43:21-43:35
“The tariffs have been incredibly effective. And you can use them to change the trade deficit, but you can also use them to change Behavior.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 43:36-43:48
“So everybody who studies pharmaceuticals learns that America is the client, is the consumer, is the payer. Worldwide.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 44:08-44:25
“Donald Trump says, I want to fix it and I want MFN price.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 45:29-45:36
“He writes a letter to 17 giant pharmaceutical companies, said, I want MFN.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 46:14-46:21
“I've got these 232 tariffs. I could smash these companies. Smash them, because they all make it overseas and then export it to us.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 46:56-47:05
“Ozempic and Mounjaro are on Medicaid and Medicare for $149 instead of not on it, and generally for sale for thousands.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 48:58-49:16
“Merck said, they're gonna just give us their number one drug in the world.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 49:35-49:39
“The trade deficit, which halved.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 51:57-52:01
“The fraud is probably a trillion dollars a year.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 53:40-53:45
“The average green card recipient made in the 40s [thousand dollars a year].”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 55:53-56:06
“We are bringing in the bottom quartile [of immigrants].”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 56:06-56:09
“Fixing the immigration system, not letting people come in by lottery.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 57:23-57:31
“People steal the history of America and they lie.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 58:02-58:09
“America was not designed with walls and barriers.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 58:51-58:57
“The president is the federal.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 1:01:39-1:01:41
“We have a dog in almost every hunt because they take the federal money.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 1:01:55-1:01:59
“No one has ever looked at, if you're getting Medicaid and Medicare, how much money do you make?”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 1:02:37-1:02:47
“We have $18 trillion of committed capital.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 1:03:59-1:04:02
“Fourth quarter GDP will be a point and a half lower than it otherwise would be for this oddity [government shutdown].”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 1:05:34-1:05:42
“We have a $30 trillion [economy].”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 1:06:45-1:06:47
“If we cut rates, you'll see sixes [6% GDP growth].”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 1:06:50-1:06:56
“Obama... got rid of shop class.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 1:09:06-1:09:14
“Six million Americans sitting on the sidelines cuz the jobs are not the right jobs for them.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 1:09:53-1:09:59
“They gave Intel $10 billion.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 1:11:54-1:11:57
“The Biden administration viewed [the] $50 billion as... I'll give you 10%.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 1:12:36-1:12:42
“Why would you give $6 billion to TSMC, which is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation, when their stock is worth a trillion?”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 1:12:52-1:13:03
“So what we did is we said to TSMC, look, you signed the contract. There's 20 pages of DEI stuff.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 1:13:22-1:13:32
“They've never had a female [lithography engineer].”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 1:13:58-1:14:01
“Build another 100 billion. We can rip that stuff up, no problem.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 1:14:38-1:14:42
“You now have $165 billion plant going in.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 1:14:43-1:14:47
“They're more advanced than what China makes.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 1:15:31-1:15:34
“The President said, and you got to give me 25%.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 1:17:29-1:17:32
“We could charge it a tariff, regular 25% tariff.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 1:18:09-1:18:14
“The President's deal... he has to send the chips to America.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 1:18:26-1:18:26
“If we get rid of the fraud, that'll save the country a trillion dollars.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 1:22:10-1:22:16
“If you grow 6%, you're going to fix the deficit, you're going to fix taxes.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 1:23:10-1:23:15
“I had whatever company that did more than $10 billion of revenues a year made lots of money, and I don't have it anymore.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 1:26:21-1:26:31
“I used to joke that I was the only commerce secretary who had patents, but I have none because I had to divest all of them.”
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026 | Uploaded January 8, 2026 | 1:26:31-1:26:39