Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin tells Fox Business Network The Paris Climate Agreement “was not a good deal for the United States” and “the President is committed to renegotiating.”
In an interview on FOX Business Network’s (FBN) After the Bell (weekdays 4p-5p), Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin discusses President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement and the latest on tax reform.
Watch the latest video at video.foxbusiness.com
Steven Mnuchin on President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement:
“I think the president was willing to listen to all the arguments but he was very clear. He stood by his original decision and this isn’t about the environment, people shouldn’t be confused. This is about, this was not a good deal for the United States. As the president said, we’ve been one of the leaders in reducing carbon, we’ve been reducing our emissions, we’ve been one of the best countries for the environment, and the president is committed to renegotiating the deal, but a deal that’s fair for us.”
On the parts of the Paris Climate Agreement that President Trump needs to negotiate:
“I think the first thing he’s going to do is make sure that it’s a negotiation and that it’s a deal that’s good for the American public. And as he said, this is a deal where China was able to continue to increase their emissions, Germany continues to do various things, and the United States, we voluntarily have reduced, by over 16 percent, we were being penalized. So the first issue is that the president will sit down and have people negotiate with other countries and make sure that he’s comfortable with a good deal. And then he’ll decide whether he ratifies it or he wants to bring it to Congress.”
On tax reform:
“First of all, let me say, we’ve been very focused on tax reform since the president was elected. Matter of fact, I’ve been working on this with him for over a year during the campaign, and the president is committed to simplifying personal taxes, delivering middle income tax cut, and making business taxes competitive. And we’ve been working very closely with the House and the Senate. I’d like to think this would be bi-partisan. This is about issues that are good for the American public, about creating jobs, good for small business. But if we don’t we’re prepared to go forth with reconciliation.”
On whether he is worried about a poor May jobs report tomorrow jeopardizing the tax reform plan:
“Not at all, I’ve always said I don’t speculate on what the numbers are going to be. I don’t speculate on where the market is going to be in the short term. You can see the market is reflecting confidence in the Trump administrations economic policies. This is about regulatory reform, tax reform, renegotiating trade deals, and were committed to creating 3 percent sustainable economic growth… We are about creating economic growth, broadening the base – we are going to make sure this is about tax reform not just cuts and that they are paid for.”
On whether he will get Congress to agree to increase the debt limit in August:
“We’re going to get it increased. The credit of the United States is the upmost. I said to Congress to do it as quickly as they can. But we are very focused on working with them and I’m confident that we will get there before there’s an issue.”
