Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) on Thursday gave rare credit to President Donald Trump, praising him for imposing new tariffs on Chinese imports.
"I don't agree with President Trump on a whole lot," Schumer said on the Senate floor, "but today, I want to give him a big pat on the back. He is doing the right thing when it comes to China."
Trump announced Thursday that the U.S. would impose about $60 billion worth of tariffs on China to penalize Beijing for stealing American companies' intellectual property.
Schumer said that when he and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) visited China over a decade ago, they "watched China rapaciously take advantage of America, of American jobs, of American workers, and American intellectual property."
"China's ruthless in how they go after us. They do it quietly; they do it with a smile," Schumer added.
In his praise of Trump's decision to impose tariffs, Schumer criticized former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama for not confronting China's unfair trade activity.
"President Trump is exactly right this afternoon to propose a plan designed to punish China for its most flagrant trade abuses," Schumer said.
"The crown jewel of America, our free and open society that allows great thinkers to create great ideas and products, they steal it, and we do nothing," Schumer added. "Finally, President Trump is doing something, unlike his predecessors, so I commend him."
The business community has largely condemned the new tariffs, and the stock market took a dive after Trump's announcement.
Robert Lighthizer, the U.S. trade representative, said the tariffs would focus on theft of U.S. technologies. He added that Trump "concluded that we should put in place tariffs on appropriate products" following a seven-month investigation into Chinese intellectual property theft.