Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) gave Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick an earful on trade at a hearing. Kennedy asked Lutnick if the administration would accept a zero-for-zero trade deal with a country like Vietnam, one of the 60-plus trading partners facing double-digit tariff increases in early July if it does not reach an agreement first with the Trump administration.

Lutnick soundly rejected the idea, saying Vietnam is being used as a pathway for China to send products to the U.S.: “Absolutely not. That would be the silliest thing we could do.” Kennedy has expressed support for President Donald Trump’s efforts to force other countries to lower their trade barriers, but he was visibly frustrated with Lutnick’s answer.

“Why are you negotiating trade deals then?” Kennedy replied. “You just said that if a country came to you and offered the ultimate reciprocity, no tariffs, no trade barriers, you would reject that.” Kennedy then pressed Lutnick on a legal principle that holds the executive branch should defer to Congress when it comes to enacting major policy changes, known as “the major questions doctrine.”

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Kennedy grills Lutnick over Trump’s tariff goals