Kevin O’Leary is standing firmly behind Donald Trump’s trade policies, especially when it comes to China. During a recent appearance on MSNBC, the “Shark Tank” investor and chair of O’Leary Ventures dismissed the idea that tariffs are harming American companies. Instead, he said they’re overdue.
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Tariffs Are Just One Part of the Strategy
O’Leary argued that Trump's approach to negotiating tariffs with more than 60 countries is something no other administration has tried. “Usually, you do a NAFTA-kind of deal,” he said. “This is just different.”
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He believes most of those situations will work themselves out, even naming countries like Vietnam and Germany as examples of those already engaging with the U.S. on trade talks. For him, those are manageable.
The Bigger Problem Is China
The real threat, O’Leary said, is China. “China is cheating, stealing, ripping off IP, wiping out American companies—many of them mine,” he said. He claimed that since joining the World Trade Organization in 2000, China has ignored intellectual property laws, costing the U.S. dearly.
“They don’t even care about IP laws. It's beyond ridiculous,” he said. O’Leary estimated that millions of U.S. businesses have been harmed, especially small ones. “I'm just speaking on behalf of every small entrepreneur in America, and I think I have my army behind me,” he said.
Adding to the broader conversation around intellectual property, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, and Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter and Block XYZ, have stirred debate recently by suggesting the complete eradication of IP laws. The idea has sparked controversy across the tech industry, with some seeing it as innovative and others viewing it as dangerous.
A Game of Leverage
While critics like economist Paul Krugman and investor Bill Ackman have called the trade war risky or a failure, O’Leary disagreed. He believes the only way to deal with China is through leverage. “This is a game of chicken right now,” he said, adding that higher tariffs may be necessary to bring China to the negotiating table.
O’Leary said he doesn’t support politicians, just policy. He emphasized that while many people are focused on hating Trump, they’re missing the policy argument. “There are millions of American companies wiped out by what China does,” he said. “I don't know why you're okay with it. You shouldn't be.”
He continued, “62% of jobs in America are created by companies with 5 to 500 employees. I am their advocate and we’re pissed.”
Hope for Progress
Despite the friction, O’Leary said he still wants to do business with China and sees opportunity there. But he said that the current situation can't continue. “We want to form some kind of a union that's not so antagonistic. But you can't cheat, you can’t steal,” he said.
He’s optimistic that the trade policy will start to show results soon. “Give it a few weeks,” he said. “I think we're going to get something worked out here. Xi is also in a bad place.”
In the meantime, he says he’s speaking for the small businesses that can’t afford to keep losing to a system that, in his view, has been rigged for too long.
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