Kenneth Raposa

We have to ask on those guys. The balanced trade issue, which is what we've heard today from the White House, is where you're telling a country, look, We know that we're the big guys. We know that we're the consumers. We know that we love to shop till we drop in the United States. And there's never going to be equal trade among us, right? Because we're a bigger consumer than you are.

But we don't want to have a growing deficit. We don't want to go from a 2017, $16 billion deficit with Canada to a record-breaking $70 billion one. We don't want to go from a $900 billion deficit in goods with the world to a 2024 record-breaking $1.2 trillion goods deficit. We want to see some stabilization, or maybe it's some countries going the other way.

But we don't want to have a growing deficit. We don't want to go from a 2017, $16 billion deficit with Canada to a record-breaking $70 billion one. We don't want to go from a $900 billion deficit in goods with the world to a 2024 record-breaking $1.2 trillion goods deficit. We want to see some stabilization, or maybe it's some countries going the other way.

But we don't want to have a growing deficit. We don't want to go from a 2017, $16 billion deficit with Canada to a record-breaking $70 billion one. We don't want to go from a $900 billion deficit in goods with the world to a 2024 record-breaking $1.2 trillion goods deficit. We want to see some stabilization, or maybe it's some countries going the other way.

Because that's not the case, those countries are going to face tariffs. So one thing Trump said today was, as an example, Hey, if the Europeans want to import a Jeep Wrangler from the US, it's a 10% tariff at least, not to mention the VAT tax, value added tax on top of that. But if we want to import a BMW convertible made in Germany, it's a 2.4% tariff.

Because that's not the case, those countries are going to face tariffs. So one thing Trump said today was, as an example, Hey, if the Europeans want to import a Jeep Wrangler from the US, it's a 10% tariff at least, not to mention the VAT tax, value added tax on top of that. But if we want to import a BMW convertible made in Germany, it's a 2.4% tariff.

Because that's not the case, those countries are going to face tariffs. So one thing Trump said today was, as an example, Hey, if the Europeans want to import a Jeep Wrangler from the US, it's a 10% tariff at least, not to mention the VAT tax, value added tax on top of that. But if we want to import a BMW convertible made in Germany, it's a 2.4% tariff.

So in the idea of the reciprocity, we will say, OK, we're going to hit that convertible beamer with a 10% tariff and VAT or something equivalent, just like you're doing to our guys. So that's the free-prompt strategy. And that's what we saw coming out of Washington today with the tariffs that would come down the pipe in April to balance trade with our biggest trading partner. Okay.

So in the idea of the reciprocity, we will say, OK, we're going to hit that convertible beamer with a 10% tariff and VAT or something equivalent, just like you're doing to our guys. So that's the free-prompt strategy. And that's what we saw coming out of Washington today with the tariffs that would come down the pipe in April to balance trade with our biggest trading partner. Okay.

So in the idea of the reciprocity, we will say, OK, we're going to hit that convertible beamer with a 10% tariff and VAT or something equivalent, just like you're doing to our guys. So that's the free-prompt strategy. And that's what we saw coming out of Washington today with the tariffs that would come down the pipe in April to balance trade with our biggest trading partner. Okay.

Okay. So, I work for the Coalition for a Prosperous America. They are in favor of tariffs because their members are companies who are impacted by trade from countries who have low-cost labor, lower taxes, weaker environmental regulations than we have here. And if they want to exist as a company, if they want to exist as a going concern, They need some sort of protection.

Okay. So, I work for the Coalition for a Prosperous America. They are in favor of tariffs because their members are companies who are impacted by trade from countries who have low-cost labor, lower taxes, weaker environmental regulations than we have here. And if they want to exist as a company, if they want to exist as a going concern, They need some sort of protection.

Okay. So, I work for the Coalition for a Prosperous America. They are in favor of tariffs because their members are companies who are impacted by trade from countries who have low-cost labor, lower taxes, weaker environmental regulations than we have here. And if they want to exist as a company, if they want to exist as a going concern, They need some sort of protection.

They're very in favor of tariffs. The same thing with a lot of our members who work in agriculture, who are beef ranchers, for example. We have free trade agreements with numerous countries like Mexico. We're importing more beef than we ever did before.

They're very in favor of tariffs. The same thing with a lot of our members who work in agriculture, who are beef ranchers, for example. We have free trade agreements with numerous countries like Mexico. We're importing more beef than we ever did before.

They're very in favor of tariffs. The same thing with a lot of our members who work in agriculture, who are beef ranchers, for example. We have free trade agreements with numerous countries like Mexico. We're importing more beef than we ever did before.

The beef that you have on the shelves in the grocery store probably came from Mexico or Brazil, probably didn't come from Oklahoma or your local farmer, unless it's labeled as such, right? So these guys want to have a... I don't want to use the word... It's a level playing field because there's never really going to be a level playing field when you have the strongest currency in the world.

The beef that you have on the shelves in the grocery store probably came from Mexico or Brazil, probably didn't come from Oklahoma or your local farmer, unless it's labeled as such, right? So these guys want to have a... I don't want to use the word... It's a level playing field because there's never really going to be a level playing field when you have the strongest currency in the world.

The beef that you have on the shelves in the grocery store probably came from Mexico or Brazil, probably didn't come from Oklahoma or your local farmer, unless it's labeled as such, right? So these guys want to have a... I don't want to use the word... It's a level playing field because there's never really going to be a level playing field when you have the strongest currency in the world.

Obviously, our dollar goes much farther in Mexico. If you want to build a beach house and we only have a million dollars, we're not going to be able to build it in Malibu, but we are going to be able to build it in Colombia or Margarita Island in Venezuela. That's for sure. Because the dollar is much stronger for us, it's much easier for us to import.