Rod Martin, CEO of Martin Capital, expressed his views on the China Desk podcast regarding the economic strategies employed by nations such as China. He said that these countries use economics as a weapon against the United States and voiced his support for President Trump's goal of trade "reciprocity" as the appropriate approach.
"They are going to view [the economy] as a battlespace, not a marketplace, and they are going to use capitalism against itself wherever they can," said Martin, Founder and CEO. "Reciprocity has to be the standard."
According to a fact sheet released by the White House, President Trump aims to bolster the U.S. economy through the implementation of tariffs. The document highlights China's "non-market policies and practices," which have enabled it to achieve global dominance in certain manufacturing sectors. This dominance has contributed to a growing trade deficit and job losses in those industries within the U.S. The fact sheet references a report from the U.S. International Trade Commission, indicating that imposing tariffs on Chinese imports resulted in reduced imports and increased domestic production.
NBC reported that China and the U.S. have been engaged in tariff negotiations throughout May and June, with an August 12 deadline looming for China to reach an agreement with the Trump administration. American and Chinese economic officials resumed discussions on tariffs in Stockholm on July 28. President Trump informed reporters before these meetings, "We’re very close to a deal with China. We really sort of made a deal with China, but we’ll see how that goes."
Martin is noted as a technology entrepreneur and investor who was part of the pre-IPO startup team at PayPal, where he served as a senior advisor to founder Peter Thiel, according to his website. He is also a member of the Board of Governors and Gold Circle of the Council for National Policy and serves on the board of directors of the Center for Security Policy.
