“For purposes of this United States Policy, we will consider Countries that use the VAT System, which is far more punitive than a Tariff, to be similar to that of a Tariff,” Trump wrote.
The post Trump Expands Reciprocal Tariff Policy to Include VATs, Non-Tariff Barriers appeared first on Breitbart.
Senior Trump administration officials say President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will discuss defense, energy, infrastructure, trade, and regional partnerships on Thursday.
The post Trump Administration Officials Preview Modi Meeting: U.S.-India Partnership Is Perhaps ‘Most Critical Bilateral Relationship of the 21st Century’ appeared first on Breitbart.
On February 1, President Donald Trump announced a 10% tariff on Chinese goods to help stop "the flow of contraband drugs like fentanyl to the United States, through illicit distribution networks," which "has created a national emergency, including a public health crisis."
Trump was correct when he stated that "Chinese officials have failed to take the actions necessary to stem the flow of precursor chemicals to known criminal cartels and shut down money laundering by transnational criminal organizations." This is consistent with what I advised him when I served as secretary of Health and Human Services in his first term.
Among the most significant health crises confronting the nation is the continued manufacturing, shipping and distribution of fentanyl from Chinese companies. Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid more potent than morphine, has been a major contributor to the opioid overdose crisis in the United States.
FENTANYL'S FINANCIAL GRIP ON US SKYROCKETED TO $2.7T AT HEIGHT OF BIDEN ADMIN: STUDY
It is estimated that over 80,000 people are killed every year in the United States by fentanyl. Nationally, fentanyl has emerged as the leading cause of death for individuals aged 18 to 45. The Drug Enforcement Administration has identified China as the primary source of fentanyl and its related substances trafficked into the U.S., often through international mail and express consignment channels.
We’re all hopeful that new tariffs, which include provisions that suspend the duty-free exemption for low-value shipments under $800 — a loophole that has been exploited to smuggle fentanyl and its precursor chemicals into the United States, will go a long way toward stopping the problem at hand.
Unfortunately, however, fentanyl is no longer the only product being smuggled in from China that is threatening Americans’ health and safety.
China also has a state-owned corporation with chartered monopoly status to sell nicotine products. This monopoly provides the communist regime with a significant amount of annual funding. In 2023, its receipts clocked in at $210 billion, $10 billion shy of funding the entire People’s Liberation Army.
One of China’s most important nicotine products is its flavored vapes, which the country continues illegally smuggling into the United States.
In 2023, over 60% of disposable vapes sold in the U.S. were illicit, with the majority originating from China. This is concerning because there is increasing evidence that some of these products contain harmful contaminants, such as heavy metals, pesticides and other toxins, due to lax manufacturing standards in Chinese factories.
This raises the question: now that the U.S. has taken significant action to squelch the prevalence of Chinese fentanyl within our borders, what can it do to stop the scourge of these dangerous Chinese nicotine products?
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First, the administration must crack down on illicit Chinese vape imports through targeted customs enforcement and stricter penalties for distributors of illegal e-cigarettes. A concerted effort to increase inspections at ports of entry, penalize bad actors in the supply chain as needed and will significantly reduce their presence.
Second, the administration, including incoming Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and incoming Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, should override former President Joe Biden’s appointees at the International Trade Commission’s decision to ban the only legal, U.S.-produced flavored vaping products from the marketplace within the 60-day window that they have to do so. If it goes into effect, this prohibition will allow China’s illicit marketplace to grow stronger.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the administration should work with Congress to reintroduce and pass legislation that holds Chinese companies accountable for violating U.S. safety and trade laws. The halt of illegal fentanyl imports through the Phase One tariffs in 2020 showed that trade measures can pressure China into compliance. Extending these policies to cover unsafe vape products would protect American consumers from dangerous, unregulated imports.
From the devastating fentanyl crisis that precipitated the imposition of tariffs on China to the resurgence of youth vaping driven by illegal flavored e-cigarettes, the pattern is clear — China does not follow the rules.
Protecting our families, especially our children, from these dangers must remain a top national priority.
President Donald Trump will announce Monday new 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum entering the United States, including from Canada and Mexico.
The post Trump to Hit Imported Steel and Aluminum with 25% Tariffs appeared first on Breitbart.
President Donald Trump's tariffs on China have raised significant concern over their potential impact on healthcare costs, but while the move could have a broad effect on the industry, it is likely they will not produce the devastating results that some may be expecting, health policy and trade experts say.
A survey by market research group Black Book Research found that 84% of the healthcare consumers they questioned said they expect to see higher costs due to increased pricing on medical treatments and drugs as a result of Trump's new tariffs. But health policy expert Chris Pope posited that healthcare is "not a very highly tradable sector" and that the sectors that do rely on trade relations, like pharmaceutical drugs or medical devices, will hinge on the magnitude of any Trump tariffs.
"There's not much international trade for most of healthcare. The biggest parts of healthcare – physician services, these are all provided domestically already, and hospitals are a domestic part of healthcare, so you take out those two things, and you've kind of ruled out almost three-quarters of all healthcare spending," Pope said in an interview with Fox News Digital. "So, for the most part, we're talking about drugs and devices, which are, at most, about a quarter of healthcare spending."
DEMS CLAIM TRUMP TARIFF COULD ‘DRIVE UP’ COSTS DESPITE DEFLECTING BLAME FROM BIDEN'S INFLATION
"In terms of prices for the industry, whether it's absorbed in their margins, or they do less research and development, or they pass it on to consumers … it's not completely devastating, but it's definitely annoying," said Christine McDaniel, a senior economist at George Mason University's Mercatus Institute.
Experts told Fox News that drug prices are among the most vulnerable aspects of the healthcare system, largely due to the U.S.' reliance on China for certain precursor chemicals and compounds that are essential for producing important medications. However, Pope said that the impact will likely only affect generic drugs and not branded drugs that are based on demand rather than supply. Generic drugs are already relatively cost-efficient, with many of them ranging under $10, he said.
Monica de Bolle is an immunologist and a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. She painted a bleaker picture of how many drugs could be impacted by the tariffs.
‘MAKING AMERICA EXPENSIVE AGAIN’: DEMOCRATS FIND A TAX THEY DON'T LIKE IN TRUMP TARIFFS
"If you go through a list of the kinds of things that we import from China when it comes to active drug ingredients, or anything else that goes into the making of over-the-counter drugs, everything is in there. If you look at the list, it basically spans the range of potential medications that anyone takes at any point in their lives," said de Bolle. "It includes things like over-the-counter NSAIDS, so non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs, things like Motrin, ibuprofen, even Tylenol, because Acetaminophen is on that list."
She added that drugs that are more dependent on China include medications for anxiety and other psychiatric disorders, such as antidepressants, and following Trump's tariffs, "those prices are going to go up, for sure," she said.
Experts say costs in healthcare could also rise due to disruptions in the supply chain for medical devices, but they noted that the impact will be a lot harder to generalize, compared to the impact on drug pricing.
"Maybe before [the supply chain] was broken up into five stages. Well, now maybe they've broken it up into six or seven stages. So there are certain things that they have to stay in China for, or they have to source from China, but then they do the next step in India or another nearby country . . . which is going to be more expensive," McDaniel said.
However, Pope argued that prices could change, depending on the device and the magnitude of Trump's tariffs.
"It's going to vary a lot, according to where the devices are manufactured, where the components are manufactured, what kind of subsidies are available from other countries and domestically, and the degree of retaliation," he said.
While Trump's tariffs might be new, the experts say that getting out of China is not. Reducing the U.S.' dependency on Chinese products tied to healthcare, particularly drugs like antibiotics, has been talked about among lawmakers for some time due to the potential national security risks. Parallel to these discussions, companies have been preparing for future tariffs in light of increased geopolitical tensions.
"There has been a lot of discussion coming from both the Democratic camp, as well as the Republican one, about the necessity to bring some of the production of certain types of drugs back to the U.S. to reduce dependency on China," said de Bolle. "This whole deal about drugs and medical equipment and all of that that was under discussion before Trump. So, it's not even Trump-related."
"In essence, you know what's happening now with the tariffs that Trump imposed isn't any different from the sorts of things that these people were thinking of doing anyway."
President Donald Trump isn't worried about American consumers taking a hit after unveiling new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, and said the tariffs will ensure that other countries treat the U.S. "fairly."
"There may be temporary, short-term disruption, and people will understand that," Trump told reporters Friday in the Oval Office.
Trump also signaled that he also may increase tariffs for European Union countries, and said that the tariffs would make the U.S. "very rich and very strong."
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced earlier Friday that Trump would roll out tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China starting Saturday.
Trump’s economic plan during his campaign called for extending the 2017 tax cuts and imposing tariffs ranging from 10% to 20% on all imported goods. For countries like China, that number could go up to 60%.
TRUMP TREASURY PICK: EXTENDING TRUMP TAX CUTS ‘SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT ECONOMIC ISSUE’
These countries will face these tariffs because they have allowed an "unprecedented invasion of illegal fentanyl that is killing American citizens," according to Leavitt.
"The president will be implementing tomorrow a 25% tariff on Mexico, 25% tariffs on Canada, and a 10% tariff on China for the illegal fentanyl they have sourced and allowed to distribute into our country, which has killed tens of millions of Americans," Leavitt told reporters on Friday at a White House press briefing. "These are promises made and promises kept."
CANADA READIES TRUMP TARIFFS RESPONSE: 'IN A TRADE WAR, THERE ARE NO WINNERS'
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday that Canada was prepared to respond to any tariffs executed, and warned there could be "disastrous consequences" for American workers and consumers.
"We’re ready with a response, a purposeful, forceful but reasonable, immediate response," Trudeau said. "It’s not what we want, but if he moves forward, we will also act."
Meanwhile, Leavitt said that the tariffs are not expected to spark a trade war with Canada and that Trump would respond to Trudeau in "due time."
"The president is intent on doing this," Leavitt said. "And I think Justin Trudeau would be wise to talk to President Trump directly before pushing outlandish comments like that to the media."
When asked if Mexico, Canada or China could offer any concessions to remove these new tariffs, Leavitt said Trump would decide at a later date.
"If the president at any time decides to roll back those tariffs, I'll leave it to him to make that decision," Leavitt said. "The president is intent on ensuring that he effectively implements tariffs while cutting inflation costs for the American people."
Leavitt also said that Trump hadn't determined a timeline for additional tariffs on European Union countries, and said she wouldn't "get ahead" of Trump on that matter.
But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he's concerned that the tariffs will only mean cost increases for American consumers.
"We should be focused on going hard against competitors who rig the game, like China, rather than attacking our allies," Schumer said in a statement Friday. "If these tariffs go into full effect, they will raise prices for everything from groceries, to cars, to gas, making it even harder for middle-class families to just get by."
HOUSE DEMS THREATEN TO BLOCK TRUMP'S BIG TARIFF PLANS: ‘UNACCEPTABLE’
House Republicans moved to reintroduce the U.S. Reciprocal Trade Act on Jan. 24, a measure that would permit Trump to unilaterally impose trade taxes on both adversaries and allies.
Trump previously praised the measure in 2019, claiming it would "give our workers a fair and level playing field against other countries."
Meanwhile, Democratic Reps. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., and Don Beyer, D-Va., also introduced their own legislation in January that would block Trump from using emergency powers to implement tariffs, amid concerns that American consumers would end up footing the bill.
"The American people have clearly and consistently said that the high cost of living is one of their top concerns," DelBene said in a statement on Jan. 15. "Not only would widespread tariffs drive up costs at home and likely send our economy into recession, but they would likely lead to significant retaliation, hurting American workers, farmers, and businesses."
The Associated Press and Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
House Republicans are unveiling a new bill to clear a path for President Donald Trump to enact his sweeping tariff plans.
First-term Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., is reintroducing the U.S. Reciprocal Trade Act on Friday, which, if passed, would allow Trump to unilaterally make moves on import taxes from both adversaries and allies.
He would be required to notify Congress, however, which could file a joint resolution of disapproval against the moves.
"American manufacturing has endured decades of decline under the globalist system that has hollowed out our industrial base and shipped countless jobs overseas. Leaders in both political parties deserve blame. But those days are over," Moore said in a statement.
TRUMP CONFRONTS BANK OF AMERICA CEO FOR NOT TAKING 'CONSERVATIVE BUSINESS'
Moore said Trump was "the first national politician in my lifetime to recognize this problem, campaign on it, and work to reverse that trend."
"With the U.S. Reciprocal Trade Act, we’ll give the executive the leverage necessary to go to bat for the American people and achieve tariff reductions on U.S. goods," he said.
Trump released a campaign video in 2023 pledging to work with Congress to pass the Reciprocal Trade Act, declaring, "Under the Trump Reciprocal Trade Act, other countries will have two choices—they’ll get rid of their tariffs on us, or they will pay us hundreds of billions of dollars, and the United States will make an absolute FORTUNE."
TRUMP'S PROPOSED TARIFFS ON MEXICO, CANADA, CHINA WILL INCREASE INFLATION, GOLDMAN SACHS WARNS
This week, the president announced that he wanted to impose a 10% tariff on Chinese imports, making good on a campaign promise to use such taxes to lower the U.S. national debt, which is currently over $36 trillion.
"We're talking about a tariff of 10% on China, based on the fact that they're sending fentanyl to Mexico and Canada," Trump said Tuesday. "Probably February 1st is the date we're looking at."
During his campaign, Trump promised to levy a 60% tariff on goods from China and as much as 20% on other countries the U.S. trades with.
He also recently pledged on Truth Social to create an "External Revenue Service" to "collect our Tariffs, Duties, and all Revenue that come from Foreign sources."
Trump has praised the U.S. Reciprocal Trade Act by name multiple times, including during a January 2019 meeting with House Republicans, including the bill's former lead, ex-Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis. Trump recently nominated Duffy to be secretary of Transportation.
"The United States Reciprocal Trade Act — this legislation will help, finally, to give our workers a fair and level playing field against other countries. Countries are taking advantage of us, whether they think we’re very nice or not so smart. They’ve been doing it for many, many years, and we want to end it," Trump said at the time.
However, not everyone is in agreement that tariffs are an effective way to bolster the U.S. economy, with some economists warning it would only raise costs for consumers.
"Not only would widespread tariffs drive up costs at home and likely send our economy into recession, but they would likely lead to significant retaliation, hurting American workers, farmers, and businesses," Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., said while unveiling a measure to block Trump from using unilateral tariff powers by declaring a trade emergency.
Outgoing left-wing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned Thursday that American consumers will pay more if and when President Donald Trump moves to apply sweeping tariffs on products from north of the border.
The post Trudeau Warns Americans: You Will Pay More if Trump Dares Impose Tariffs on Canada appeared first on Breitbart.
House Democrats are trying to block President-elect Donald Trump from implementing his wide-ranging tariff plans just days before he is set to take office.
A new bill led by Reps. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., and Don Beyer, D-Va., and backed by 11 other Democrats, would block Trump from using presidential emergency powers to roll out higher import taxes.
During his campaign, Trump promised to levy a 60% tariff on goods from China and as much as 20% on other countries the U.S. trades with.
TRUMP'S PROPOSED TARIFFS ON MEXICO, CANADA, CHINA WILL INCREASE INFLATION, GOLDMAN SACHS WARNS
He most recently pledged on Truth Social to create an "External Revenue Service" to "collect our Tariffs, Duties, and all Revenue that come from Foreign sources."
Trump and his allies have argued that the plan would bolster American manufacturing while making it more difficult for adversaries like China to "export their way out of their current economic malaise," as Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent told senators this week.
In theory, the commander in chief is able to bypass Congress to impose sweeping tariffs by declaring an emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
However, Democrats argue the cost of the tariffs would just be passed on to American consumers.
"The American people have clearly and consistently said that the high cost of living is one of their top concerns," DelBene said in a statement. "Not only would widespread tariffs drive up costs at home and likely send our economy into recession, but they would likely lead to significant retaliation, hurting American workers, farmers, and businesses."
Beyer said, "Trump’s tariff proposals would misuse emergency authorities to raise prices on the American people, which is unacceptable."
However, not all Democrats have rejected the plan.
Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, a moderate Democrat known to often break from his own party, introduced his own bill this week to impose a universal 10% tariff on all imports.
CANADA READIES TRUMP TARIFFS RESPONSE: 'IN A TRADE WAR, THERE ARE NO WINNERS'
The 10% level would be reassessed each year, with room for a 5% increase or decrease depending on current U.S. economic conditions.
He argued in a statement to the Maine Morning Star, "The universal tariff — along with other policies to support domestic energy production, unions and manufacturing — is designed to reorient our economy from one focused on cheap goods and consumption to one centered on production and innovation."
Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump transition team for comment on both bills.
On Tuesday’s broadcast of NewsNation’s “The Hill,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) argued that the U.S. should ask China “what is it that we can do to make trade better and to enhance your trade such that, maybe in exchange, we
The post Rand Paul: We Should Offer Trade Concessions to China to Get Them to Stop Aiding Russia appeared first on Breitbart.
Canada’s outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested that President-elect Trump's suggestion that Canada become America's "51st state" was a distraction from the tariff threat.
"I know that as a successful negotiator, he likes to keep people a little off balance. The 51st state, that’s not going to happen," Trudeau told MSNBC’s "Inside with Jen Psaki" on Sunday. "It’s just a non-starter. Canadians are incredibly proud of being Canadian. But people are now talking about that, as opposed to talking about what impact 25% tariffs [has] on steel and aluminum coming into the United States, on energy, whether it's oil and gas or electricity."
"No American wants to pay 25% more for electricity or oil and gas coming in from Canada," Trudeau said in the interview with Psaki, President Biden’s former White House press secretary. "That’s something I think people need to pay a little more attention to. And perhaps the idea of a 51st state is distracting a little bit from a very real question that will increase the cost of living for Americans and harm a trading relationship that works extremely well."
Trump has threatened to impose 25% tariffs on all Canadian imports. The president-elect also said that if Canada merged with the U.S., taxes would decrease and there would be no tariffs.
The president-elect has also taken shots at Trudeau, referring to him as the "governor" of Canada. Last Monday, Trudeau announced that he would resign as Canada's prime minister once his Liberal Party chooses a new leader on March 9.
"From my very first conversations with him back in 2016, he told me how much he admires Canada, how much he appreciates and likes us, so there is a certain amount of flattery in this that he thinks that we are as great as we are," Trudeau said of Trump on Sunday. "He’s right, we are great. We’re also very, very proud of being Canadian. If you talk to any Canadian, you ask them to define what it is to be Canadian, they’ll talk about all sorts of different things, but one of the things we will point out is, ‘and we’re not Americans.’"
On Trudeau’s trip to Mar-a-Lago in November, the Canadian prime minister said the topic of the U.S. annexing Canada did come up, but Trudeau said once he joked that Canada could annex Vermont or California as a sort of trade, Trump "immediately decided it was not that funny anymore, and we moved on to a different conversation."
"This isn’t out of the blue that he’s doing this, but my focus has to be not on something that he’s talking about that will not ever happen, but more on something that might well happen, that if he does choose to go forward with tariffs that raise the costs of just about everything for American citizens, that on top of that, we’re going to have a robust response to that," Trudeau said.
"We are ready to respond with tariffs as necessary," Trudeau said.
Canadian officials say that if Trump follows through with his threat of punishing tariffs, Canada would consider slapping retaliatory tariffs on American orange juice, toilets and some steel products.
MAGAFEST DESTINY? TRUMP FLEXES HIS MUSCLES WITH REPEATED TALK OF AMERICAN EXPANSIONISM
Trudeau recalled that Trump previously put tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum during his first term, and Canada responded by putting tariffs on bourbon, Harley Davidson motorcycles, orange juice, playing cards and other such items that Trudeau argued Canadians could easily find replacements for.
"It ended up causing a lot of loss in American businesses for whom Canada is their number one export partner. We are the number one export partner for about 35 different U.S. states, and anything that thickens the border between us ends up costing American citizens and American jobs. That’s not what President Trump got elected to do," Trudeau said. "I know he got elected to try and make life easier for all Americans, to support American workers. These are things that are going to hurt them."
Trump said last week that the U.S. does not need oil – or anything else – from Canada, but almost a quarter of the oil that the U.S. consumes each day comes from Canada. The energy-rich western province of Alberta exports 4.3 million barrels of oil a day to the U.S., according to the Associated Press. Data from the United States Energy Information Administration shows that the U.S. consumes 20 million barrels a day, and produces about 13.2 million barrels a day.
Canada, a founding partner of NATO and home to more than 40 million people, is also the top export destination for 36 U.S. states. Nearly $2.7 billion worth of goods and services cross the border each day.
Trump has said that he would reconsider his tariff threat if Canada made improvements in managing security at the Canada-U.S. border, which he and his advisers see as a potential entry point for illegal immigrants.
Trudeau has said that less than 1% of illegal immigrants and fentanyl cross into the U.S. from Canada.
Nevertheless, after his meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, Trudeau announced an increase in spending on border security, expressing willingness to address Trump’s concerns in hopes that he would reconsider his tariff threat.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and President-elect Trump met on Saturday and discussed the "mutual importance" of a U.S.-Canadian energy relationship and the hundreds of thousands of American jobs supported through Albertan exports.
"Over the last 24 hours I had the opportunity to meet President [Trump] at Mar-a-Lago last night and at his golf club this morning," Smith wrote in a post on X. "We had a friendly and constructive conversation during which I emphasized the mutual importance of the U.S. - Canadian energy relationship, and specifically, how hundreds of thousands of American jobs are supported by energy exports from Alberta."
She continued, saying she had similar discussions with "several key allies" of Trump’s incoming administration in which she became encouraged to hear about their support for "a strong energy and security relationship with Canada."
"On behalf of Albertans, I will continue to engage in constructive dialogue and diplomacy with the incoming administration and elected federal and state officials from both parties, and will do all I can to further Alberta’s and Canada’s interests," Smith said. "The United States and Canada are both proud and independent nations with one of the most important security alliances on earth and the largest economic partnership in history. We need to preserve our independence while we grow this critical partnership for the benefit of Canadians and Americans for generations to come."
Smith posted about the meeting on X, nearly a week after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation amid growing pressure from within his own Liberal Party and heightened criticisms over his handling of the economy and threats levied by Trump.
However, as Trudeau announced on Monday his plan to resign as prime minister once the Liberal Party that he leads chooses his successor, the biggest pushback to Trump’s pitch to annex Canada – and his planned 25% tariffs on exports from the country – has come from the premier of Canada’s most populous province, Ontario.
Doug Ford, a former businessman and conservative who has served as Ontario’s 26th premier since 2018, told Fox News Digital in an interview that the president-elect’s targeting Canada is both "crazy" and "ridiculous."
TRUMP REACTS TO TRUDEAU RESIGNATION: ‘MANY PEOPLE IN CANADA LOVE BEING THE 51ST STATE’
He said the bilateral focus should be on "strengthening" what the Canadian government calls a nearly trillion-dollar two-way trade relationship to "make the U.S. and Canada the richest and most prosperous jurisdiction in the world."
The president-elect has been trolling Canada in recent weeks, floating the idea of it becoming the 51st state and posting a doctored photo of him standing beside a Canadian flag on top of a mountain.
Trump has also been pushing for Denmark to sell the North Atlantic island of Greenland to the U.S.
Fox News' Christopher Guly contributed to this report.
President-elect Trump said on Tuesday that negotiating away the Panama Canal was a "very big mistake" by former President Jimmy Carter – ahead of Carter's state funeral later this week.
Trump said at a press conference that he believes the canal, which he would like the the U.S. to reclaim, is why Carter lost the 1980 presidential election to Ronald Reagan, who also opposed the treaty Carter negotiated to hand over the canal.
"It's a bad part of the Carter legacy," Trump said.
"He was a good man. I knew him a little bit, and he was a very fine person. But that was a big mistake."
LIVE UPDATES: JIMMY CARTER REMEMBRANCES, FUNERAL SERVICES
"Giving the Panama Canal to Panama was a very big mistake. We lost 38,000 people. It cost us the equivalent of a trillion dollars, maybe more... They say it was the most expensive structure… ever built. And giving that away was a horrible thing. And I believe that's why Jimmy Carter lost the election, even more so than the hostages," he said.
Speaking in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump lamented the fact Carter purportedly "gave" the canal lands back to the Panamanians "for $1." According to reports, no part of the treaty mentioned a $1 sale.
"I thought [giving the canal back] was a terrible thing to do," Trump said.
When reporters pressed Trump on criticizing Carter on the day of his Washington wake, the president-elect said he was a "very fine person" but that his politics left something to be desired.
Trump has also sparred verbally with Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino about his plans for the canal.
However, more than a century ago, another Republican – Theodore Roosevelt – celebrated the way the United States spearheaded the canal project in part through some diplomatic maneuvering.
HOW CARTER TRANSFORMED THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY
In the early 1900s, as the Colombian Senate balked at a treaty favoring U.S. control, Panama was in the process of declaring its independence from Bogota – and America quickly recognized the new nation and effectively circumvented the Colombians.
In 1903, President Roosevelt boasted of the accomplishment.
"Fortunately, the crisis came at a period when I could act unhampered [by Congress]. Accordingly, I took the Isthmus, started the canal and then left Congress not to debate the canal, but to debate me," he said.
Trump’s plans to retake the canal have earned him praise from otherwise regular critics.
Meghan McCain, daughter of the late Sen. John McCain – with whom Trump often sparred – backed the man she otherwise tends to critique.
"Trump is right about the Panama Canal. This is very personal – my dad was born in the Panama Canal Zone."
The elder McCain was born in 1936 at the then-Coco Solo U.S. Navy installation – as a U.S. citizen since the canal zone was controlled by Americans.
The late Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina also expressed reservations about canal negotiations in the 1970s.
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In a letter to then-President Ford, Thurmond warned the Panamanians were cozying up to the Communist Cuban government, and that "any action on the part of the United States that indicates the slightest position of weakness or a willingness to accommodate anti-American sentiment in Panama, would result in many other Latin American countries moving in the same leftward direction."
Thurmond led 35 senators in crafting a resolution opposing what he called the surrender of U.S. sovereignty in the PCZ.
"Any loss of control of the Canal would be extremely detrimental to our vital interests, especially in Latin America. We should make it clear that U.S. vital interests there are not negotiable."
Carter's negotiations led to Panama taking full control of the canal by 1999. His other major diplomatic negotation – peace accords between Egypt and Israel – also remain intact today.
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