Welcome back to Squawkbox. We are in Aspen, Colorado this morning with two former Treasury Secretaries uh who are uh the co-chairs of the Aspen Economic Group. Good morning to you.Hank Pollson is here. Tim Gner is here. Uh we just spoke to the president.Lots of questions about where our economy is today, what's going on with the tariffs, how you think about all this geopolitically, treasuries and everything. Um geopolitics, China. So I want to get to as much of this as we can.I just want to start though wit ...

Trade & Tariffs - A deal exists involving \$600 billion for unspecified investments, aimed at recouping past losses [1] - The speaker expressed frustration over a \$41 billion deficit with Switzerland, despite minimal tariffs [2] - Tariffs on specific excluded classes like steel and aluminum will be announced soon [4] Semiconductor & Pharmaceutical Industries - Tariffs will be imposed on semiconductors and chips to encourage domestic production in the United States [5] - A major Taiwanese company is investing \$300 billion in Arizona to build a large chip and semiconductor plant [5] - Initially small tariffs on pharmaceuticals will increase to 150% within one year and up to 250% within one and a half years to promote domestic production [6]

Trade & Tariffs - The EU paid $600 billion, leading to a reduction in their tariffs from 30% to 15% [1] - Switzerland has a $41 billion deficit with the US and was unwilling to pay even 1% tariffs [1] - Tariffs on pharmaceuticals will initially be small but are planned to increase to 150% and then 250% within 1 to 15 years to encourage domestic production [2] - India has the highest tariffs of any nation, hindering trade with the US [3][4] - A potential trade deal with India involving zero tariffs was under consideration but complicated by India's purchase of Russian oil [6] Energy & Geopolitics - The previous administration claims to have been drilling at unprecedented levels, contrasting with the current administration's policies [2] - India's purchase of Russian oil is fueling the war machine, potentially leading to increased tariffs [4] Manufacturing & Investment - A company from Taiwan is investing $300 billion in Arizona to build a large plant for chips and semiconductors [2] - The previous administration criticizes the current administration's approach to incentivizing semiconductor manufacturing, suggesting funds were misallocated [2]

I just want to hear you clearly. You're saying the people who have been here for years and who have been even paying taxes, you're going to look at them very differently and and maybe they belong here in the workforce. I want to work with them and in some cases we're sending them back to their country with a pass back in legally and we're doing things that are that are very difficult to do and very complex, but it works really well. We're sending them back and then they're schooling, they're learning, they' ...

Yeah, m Mr. . President, you you've talked about you want success, not retribution. The Justice Department now tapping a grand jury uh to look into uh the intelligence community's assessment of what was happening um with Russia. Is that you have nothing to do with uh with with directing the Justice Department. I have nothing to do Pam is doing a great job.I have nothing to do with it. I will tell you this. Uh they deserve it.I was happy to hear it. I actually read it just like you did. I have nothing to do ...

like you were going to have a meeting and people were talking about it with President Xi and then you went out of your way to kind of say other people are saying I think you even called it fake news or something. It almost it it looked like you were indicating that you were unhappy or or that talks had broken down and we've had a couple of frameworks uh or some positive moves and and you know China you've had a lot of success with other countries. China is a big deal and a big not quite the elephant in the ...

Economic Concerns & Policy - The dismissal of a technocrat, the head of an agency, due to disagreement with official government statistics is considered dangerous for the economy and evidence-based policy [1] - The credibility of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is crucial for businesses, investors, and policymakers, as they rely on objective, non-political data [1] - There are concerns about the politicization of the BLS commissioner role, making it difficult to find qualified individuals willing to take the job [2] Economic Resilience & Challenges - The economy has shown remarkable resilience to shocks, including the pandemic and tariffs [3][4] - Despite the economy's strengths, millions of Americans face challenges related to rising healthcare and housing costs [5] Budget & Spending - The budget deficit is a significant concern, especially with Congress passing legislation that adds $3 to $4 trillion in debt over the next 10 years [6][8] - Tariffs are seen as a source of revenue but are not sufficient to bring down costs [7][8] - The recent bill includes cuts to Medicaid and SNAP to offset the cost of extended tax cuts [9] - Rebalancing domestic spending priorities is necessary [10]

Elaine Chow was on yesterday and I I know you know she was uh I think she was labor secretary for eight years under um uh Bush too and she was your transportation secretary as well and she said you know the commissioner doesn't really even get involved uh with the actual minutia of of putting all these things together and there's no way that that it could have been that she could have chosen to rig these numbers uh to make them look bad and the these are statistical changes based on this antiquated system a ...

And now to the guests uh that we've been talking about all morning, President Donald Trump. Mr. . President, uh welcome.Thanks for uh thanks for calling in. Wish you could be here in person, but uh but we'll do this. Good morning, Joe.We've been talking about the BLS uh and the employment numbers all morning long. Sometimes I know you get a chance uh to tune in. I want to bring up a chart.I hope you can see it or else I'll describe it to you. This is the response rate over the last 10 12 years uh for the BL ...

All right, welcome back to Worldwide Exchange. As we close in on the 6 a. m.Eastern time hour, a check on a few of the stories we're tracking this morning. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly says we're moving closer to the need for rate cuts, saying the central bank may have to do more than two cuts. Daily cites growing evidence that the US jobs market is softening and no signs of persistent tariff-driven inflation for that particular call.The Peter Tealbacked crypto exchange, Bullish, is seeking a valua ...