Former deputy national security adviser KT McFarland told Newsmax on Thursday that President Donald Trump “understands the one thing that is we’ve always had the ability [to use reciprocal tariffs], but nobody’s ever taken advantage of it.”

Earlier in the day, Trump announced his new executive order which taxes foreign goods at the same rate that other nations apply to American products. “If you build your product in the United States, there are no tariffs,” Trump told reporters. McFarland said it was important that Trump used the word “reciprocal.”

“If they want to charge us 25%, great. We’ll charge 25%. If they want to go to zero, we’ll go to zero. But it should be fair across the board. And that’s the big difference. And President Trump with all these tariff wars, he understands the one thing that is we’ve always had the ability, but nobody’s ever taken advantage of it,” McFarland said during an appearance on “American Agenda.”

Read more at Newsmax© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.