Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told MSNBC in her first one-on-one interview since being confirmed by the Senate that China’s “human rights abuses are horrific and they need to be held to account.”
Raimondo told MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle that Beijing has been “anti-competitive” and “coercive,” noting that “their human rights abuses are horrific and they need to be held to account,” and said the actions of the country’s telecommunications companies pose a “threat to American economic and national security.”
The secretary added that China has dumped “excessive amounts of cheap steel and aluminum into America,” and noted that tariffs have been “effective,” though she said the Biden administration plans to complete a full review of the previous administration’s policies to “decide what it makes sense to maintain.”
She also said that President Joe Biden has “been very clear, we're going to be tough on China in a whole of government response ... we have to recognize the magnitude that China's behavior — the threat that it poses.”
Raimondo, the former governor of Rhode Island, also criticized Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to end his state’s mask mandate as “premature,” due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, saying it was wrong of him to “flip the switch.”
She went on to address Biden’s compromise on coronavirus relief and stimulus checks as “the right thing to do.”
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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