Fox News "The Story with Martha MacCallum" - Transcript: Interview with Sen. Tom Cotton

Interview

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MACCALLUM: Here now Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas. Senator, thanks for being here tonight. What is your take on the stage that we are at now and the actions that each side has taken?

SEN. TOM COTTON, R-ARK.: Martha, I think it's important for everyone to remember that this trade war is not new. China has been waging a trade war against the United States for 30 years. They have not lived up to their commitments to international trade organization or their commitments to the United States.

For instance, Xi Jinping in 2015 promised Barack Obama that China would stop stealing our intellectual property and hacking into our computer systems. They broke that promise.

He promised President Trump earlier this year that China would buy more of our farm products. They broke that promise as well.

MACCALLUM: Yes.

COTTON: So this trade war hasn't been a started, this trade war has been joined by the president on behalf of our farmers and ranchers and foresters and manufacturers to try to stop China's unfair trade practices that have threaten so many of our jobs and taken so many of our factories over the decades.

MACCALLUM: I mean, I think there is no doubt that the president certainly acknowledged and I think a lot of the players acknowledged that this is going to be painful at times, and obviously that's a difficult thing to absorb for farmers and they did a $16 billion sort of subsidy to help the farmers.

You know, what's the impact of this? To tough it out and to get to the other side if that's -- if that's where we are going here. What's the potential impact do you think on the 2020 election?

COTTON: Well, there is no doubt that there are tough times in farm country partly because of the trade disputes we have with China, and partly other factors as well like a very wet spring and some flooding as well.

That's one of the reasons why the president and the secretary of agriculture announced earlier this year the Market Facilitation Program to try to help protect our farmers from some of those harms of China's trade practices, but ultimately China needs American food. They cannot feed their own people. They really that can't even source all the food they need from other countries.

So, if we hang tough, if we stand behind in a firm united fashion the United States trying to fight this trade war with China, I'm confident that not only our farmers but all Americans will ultimately benefit.

MACCALLUM: Yes. And what about China and the moved that they made in devaluing their currency? Which is, you know, currency manipulation is something that's been going on for a long time there as well. Does that sort of show further weakness on their side and a short-term play that they are carrying out?

COTTON: Martha, I think it does reveal that the Chinese leadership is worried perhaps under more of panicked about this trade war that we have finally joined against them. They devalued the currency briefly yesterday, but then they stabilized it in part because of the impact it would have on their own Chinese consumer market.

China has been manipulating its currency for a very long time in addition to a whole other host of policies they've used to gain unfair advantages on American workers.

MACCALLUM: Yes. And this president is the first one to actually call them out as a currency manipulator although we've been hearing about it and talking about it for a very long time as you say, Senator.

The other tension that China is dealing with right now is what's going on in Hong Kong which appears to be an escalating situation. Now you've got a massive 12,000 Chinese troops on the border as they, you know, sort of approach this anniversary date, what do you see happening there?

COTTON: Martha, the tensions just outside of Hong Kong and the protests inside of Hong Kong are very high. Beijing should make no mistake though. If they were to impose martial law on Hong Kong or otherwise, crackdown in violation of Hong Kong their basic law of 1984 Joint Declaration that took Hong Kong back to Chinese governance, it would require a fundamental re- appraisement of the United States relationship with China.

I would call for halting all trade negotiation, for imposing sanctions on senior Chinese communist party officials, revoking their visas and the visas of their family members, revising the Hong Kong Policy Act which gives Hong Kong a special privilege status as an isle of freedom inside a sea of Chinese tyranny.

MACCALLUM: Yes.

COTTON: If they were to crackdown on Hong Kong or impose martial law or send all of those police officers and troops into Hong Kong, then it would be a moment like Tiananmen Square was 30 years ago. Only this time, I hope that we don't make the mistakes of largely letting Beijing off the hook as we did after the Tiananmen Square massacre.

MACCALLUM: I've got to go, but quickly, what do you put the chances of that happening at?

COTTON: The tensions are very high. I would simply caution Beijing not to doubt American resolve and not to cross that border and not to impose martial law or otherwise violate their obligations under the 1984 Joint Declaration relative to Hong Kong.

MACCALLUM: Senator, thank you. Great to see you tonight. Thanks for being here.

COTTON: Thank you, Martha.

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