Yahoo News Ex-Trump Aide Says China Threat Is Clear But Taiwan Must Step Up
(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump’s former national security adviser brushed aside concerns that 100% tariffs on some Chinese goods would fuel inflation and called for what he termed a broad “strategic decoupling” from Beijing, offering a taste of what economic and foreign policy might look like if the former president returns to power.
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Former National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien said Trump is serious about fresh tariffs on China as a way to cut its dominance in key sectors including automobiles. He echoed Trump’s comments this week that Taiwan should boost military spending, arguing the US can’t care more about other countries’ defense than they do.
“I do think the free world is waking up to the threat of the Communist Party of China,” O’Brien told a Bloomberg News event on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
While calling for the US to cut dependence on China in key sectors, he said “no one’s going to claim it’s a national security risk to buy a fishing pole at Walmart if it came from China.”
O’Brien emphasized that he doesn’t speak for Trump, and his views on TikTok and Ukraine differed from the former president. But he said he talks to Trump frequently and O’Brien’s prescriptions could shape policy if he serves in a second administration — a prospect he didn’t rule out.
China Decoupling
The US should not rely on China for sectors like rare earth elements, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, quantum computing and pharmaceuticals, he said. That includes autos — with O’Brien saying that China will crush the German auto industry if they have the opportunity.
Trump has floated 100% tariffs on Chinese vehicle imports and wide tariffs on Chinese goods. O’Brien brushed aside worries that could fuel inflation.
“If we had free and fair trade with the Chinese, they weren’t stealing our IP and they weren’t dumping products to kill American manufacturing, you might not need the tariffs,” he said. The tariffs “may stay for a while,” he added.
Trump’s view is that producers will absorb tariff costs, though he acknowledged “different views” on how much is passed on to consumers. Tariffs are paid by importers. “We’ll see how that works out,” O’Brien said.
Tech and TikTok
O’Brien called TikTok “the best espionage operation that’s ever been created in the history of espionage,” saying it allows the company to track Americans closely, including members of the military.
TikTok’s algorithm can advocate healthy lifestyles domestically and bombard foreign users with negative influences, he said. He endorsed the law to force the shuttering or divestiture of the US arm of the app.
“I support the current bill,” O’Brien said in remarks that opened some daylight with Trump, who initiated efforts to ban the app but has since suggested he doesn’t want to outlaw it.
On Trump’s approach to the tech sector more broadly, O’Brien said Trump has long had conflicts with major tech companies but threatened tariffs on France when Europe considered a digital tax that would have disproportionately hit American giants.
“Even though he wasn’t happy with the tech companies, they were American companies,” he said. “I think that it’s a good forecast for how he’s going to deal with the European tech regulation going forward.”
Taiwan
O’Brien echoed Trump’s concerns that Taiwan’s security in part depends on Taiwan doing more for itself. In an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek published Tuesday, Trump said he thinks Taiwan should pay the US for its defense and criticized the island’s chipmaking dominance.
“The Taiwanese have to want their freedom and independence as much as we want it for them,” O’Brien said, adding he had two daughters serving in the US armed forces.
“I can’t care more about Taiwan, to send my daughters to defend Taiwan, if the Taiwanese themselves wouldn’t defend Taiwan. And so we need to see the will of the Taiwanese people,” he said, later adding: “they need to step up to the plate.”
He said Taiwan is “facing a monster across the strait” and would want to at least match what China is spending on defense as a share of its economy.
Ukraine
Right now, Ukraine is willing to come to the negotiating table but Russian President Vladimir Putin has no interest because he believes he’s winning the war and that Russia can outlast Ukraine, O’Brien said.
He criticized sanction exemptions on key Russian sectors like oil and gas, but stopped short of pledging to end those. The US can pressure Putin in part by driving down the global oil price, he said.
“Right now, we’ve got to create some incentive for Putin to come to the table. There’s no incentive right now,” O’Brien said. Trump will “want to put pressure on Putin to bring him to the table,” he said.
“Ultimately, the Ukrainians are going to have to decide what they can live with,” O’Brien said. “They may decide to make territorial concessions in exchange for their kids not dying in a meat grinder.”
Israel and Hamas
O’Brien criticized the Biden administration for not sending in special forces immediately to Gaza to rescue hostages, including American citizens.
“The longer the hostages are held, the harder it is to recover them, but in those early days you can get them quickly and I’m disappointed we didn’t take more robust action,” he said.
Now, “we’re in a situation where we do have to negotiate” but “we’re negotiating with Hamas like they’re some sort of NGO, or a legitimate government. They’re a terrorist organization,” he added.
Nikki Haley
O’Brien praised Nikki Haley, who spoke Tuesday at the convention after months of uncertainty over whether Trump would extend an olive branch.
O’Brien said Haley was generous with her time when serving as US ambassador to the United Nations, meeting with families of Americans being held hostage abroad.
“I think she’d be a very effective representative for the former president,” he said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she came back.”
O’Brien himself left the door open to serving if asked.
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