--- title: Donald Trump Takes His Trade Policies to a GOP Fundraiser description: TIME obtained audio of the President's remarks. canonical: https://time.com/5201197/donald-trump-republican-fundraiser-tariffs/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-03-15T16:09:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:53:32.910Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Trump Pitched Tariffs to Republican Donors. He Was Met With Silence og:description: Donors applauded when he discussed other subjects, however. og:url: https://time.com/5201197/donald-trump-republican-fundraiser-tariffs/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd061356fbe47c3f7/69892ab6bc6cfc65393e5541/ap-trump.jpeg?branch=production&width=800&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 800 og:image:height: 450 og:image:alt: ap trump og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump Pitched Tariffs to Republican Donors. He Was Met With Silence twitter:description: Donors applauded when he discussed other subjects, however. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd061356fbe47c3f7/69892ab6bc6cfc65393e5541/ap-trump.jpeg?branch=production&width=800&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump Pitched Tariffs to Republican Donors. He Was Met With Silence > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: President Trump Signs Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum [Watch (HLS stream): President Trump Signs Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/M2U43T7v.m3u8) (1:05)  _Published 2018-03-08. President Donald Trump is announcing steep tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum to address what he says is an “assault on our country.”_  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Mar 15, 2018 4:09 PM UTC  President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on March 13, 2018. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on March 13, 2018. Andrew Harnik—AP  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Mar 15, 2018 4:09 PM UTC President Donald Trump’s [biggest break with Republican orthodoxy](http://time.com/5192318/donald-trump-tariffs-steel-aluminum-republicans/) is his positions on his protectionist approach to trade, and his attempt to pitch the issue of tariffs during a closed-door meeting with top conservative donors was met with silence. Speaking in Missouri at a fundraiser for Attorney General Josh Hawley, who is running for the Republican Senate nomination, Trump criticized what he described as unfair trade agreements with the European Union, Japan and China while still describing himself as a “free trader.” “And then you hear about the free traders. And I’m a free trader,” Trump said, according to audio of remarks obtained by TIME and [first reported by the Washington _Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2018/03/15/transcript-of-trumps-remarks-at-fundraiser-in-missouri-on-march-14/?utm%5Fterm=.0cae9d3e67f6). “ I want to be a smart trader. I want to be a fair trader. It’s so unfair what’s happening to our politicians.” Trump has long criticized trade deals and called for renegotiating them while running for president. In office, he [pulled the U.S. out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership](http://time.com/4643380/donald-trump-tpp-mexico-city-trade-business/), a multi-national pact aimed at countering China; imposed [tariffs on solar panels](http://time.com/5113472/donald-trump-solar-panel-tariff/) and washing machines; and announced plans for [new tariffs on aluminum and steel](http://time.com/5180901/donald-trump-steel-aluminum-tariff/). But while those moves have engendered some opposition among conservative advocacy groups and lawmakers — even [prompting one economic adviser to quit](http://time.com/5188746/gary-cohn-donald-trump-resignation/) — Trump has also said that some allies may be exempted from the tariffs and that they [may be a negotiating ploy](https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/13/trump-larry-kudlow-economic-adviser-458944). He made a similar case to Republican donors in Missouri. “What I’m really saying is it’s not so much tariffs, it’s really saying we cant be taken advantage of anymore by these people that come in and dump everything in our country and destroy our mills and destroy our workers and destroy everything,” he said. “When I did the tariffs, what most people understand what I’m doing is fighting for them.” But Trump also slammed free trade agreements, calling NAFTA a “disaster,” as he has before, and highlighting the disastrous effects of trade deficits. At one point, toward the end of his remarks, he said he [told Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau](http://time.com/5200929/donald-trump-justin-trudeau-trade/) that the United States had a trade deficit with the country, even though he said at the fundraiser that he didn’t actually know. “He said Donald, we have no trade deficit … I said ‘wrong Justin, you do.’ I didn’t even know,” Trump said of his conversation with Trudeau. (The U.S. actually has a [surplus](https://ustr.gov/countries-regions/americas/canada) with Canada). According to the audio, Trump received ample applause from attendees when discussing the increase of resources towards the military and his policy on North Korea and when he said he told China’s President Xi Jinping he was fighting for the United States. There was laughter when he referred to CNN as “fake news.” But when he discussed tariffs and stricter trade policy, the room stayed silent. ## Transcript Today I'm defending America's National Security by placing tariffs on foreign imports of steel and aluminum. We will have a 25 percent tariff on foreign steel and a 10 percent tariff on foreign aluminum. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] When the product comes across our borders. Due to the unique relationship with Canada and Mexico, we're negotiating right now NAFTA. And we're gonna hold off the tariff on those two countries to see whether or not we're able to make the deal on NAFTA. National security, very important aspect of that deal. And if we're making the deal on NAFTA, this will figure into the deal and we won't have the tariffs on Canada or Mexico. If we don't make the deal on NAFTA and if we terminate NAFTA because they're unable to make a deal that's fair for our workers and fair for our farmers We love our farmers and fair for our manufacturers, that we're going to terminate NAFTA and we'll start all over again. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5201197/donald-trump-republican-fundraiser-tariffs/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5201197/donald-trump-republican-fundraiser-tariffs/"},"headline":"President Trump Pitched Tariffs to Republican Donors. 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