WEBVTT - US Chamber of Commerce CEO Suzanne Clarke Talks Tariffs

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. All the conversations we've

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<v Speaker 1>had lead up to this, whether we talked about energy,

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<v Speaker 1>higher costs, inflation, supply, Chaine, geopolitics, politics in Washington. Susanne

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<v Speaker 1>Clark is with us. She's President CEO of the US

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<v Speaker 1>Chamber of Commerce, a great voice when it comes to

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<v Speaker 1>what's going on in the business community. What is top

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<v Speaker 1>of mind because the laundry list of things that is

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<v Speaker 1>coming at American businesses right now is a lot.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, thank you so much, Thank you for having me.

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<v Speaker 2>I was saying a minute ago that we were just

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<v Speaker 2>with the LA Chamber yesterday and it's such an opportunity

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<v Speaker 2>to get out and talk to local businesses big and

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<v Speaker 2>small about what's happening in their community. And what we

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<v Speaker 2>see is businesses really trying to deal with all of

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<v Speaker 2>this uncertainty. What should they be doing about finding workers,

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<v Speaker 2>what should they be doing about their supply chains, What

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<v Speaker 2>will happen with the economy, What does AI mean? So

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<v Speaker 2>all the things that you've been tackling all morning, business

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<v Speaker 2>leaders are live trying to figure out themselves.

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<v Speaker 3>What conversations are you having when it comes to affordability.

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<v Speaker 3>I know you were on a panel today with Nearer Tangent.

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<v Speaker 3>It was our broadcast a little bit earlier, both of you,

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<v Speaker 3>I'm sure coming from different perspectives when you're trying to

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<v Speaker 3>keep American business in mind, knowing price pressures from the

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<v Speaker 3>gas pump to the grocery store are very real, you

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<v Speaker 3>reached for the word uncertainty first, How do you speak

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<v Speaker 3>with your members about this? So the challenges they're facing

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<v Speaker 3>and about.

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<v Speaker 2>To face, well, you know, let me say first that

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<v Speaker 2>Nira and I had violent agreement about the need for

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<v Speaker 2>permitting reform, right, that we really need to build things faster,

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<v Speaker 2>all of it. Right, it's housing, it's electricity, it's utility costs.

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<v Speaker 2>So what could we do as a country to build

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<v Speaker 2>things faster, more efficiently and cheaper. So that comes up

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<v Speaker 2>with affordability. The US Chamber, we really believe a lot

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<v Speaker 2>of the root of the affordability problem is a supply constraint. Right,

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<v Speaker 2>we don't have enough housing, we don have enough access

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<v Speaker 2>to healthcare. We the labor shortages and key sectors. We

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<v Speaker 2>don't have a resilient supply chain. So the question is

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<v Speaker 2>if we want long term economic growth, three percent growth

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<v Speaker 2>that lifts up families and communities in the country and

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<v Speaker 2>helps pay off debt. If we want all of that,

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<v Speaker 2>we have to take some of these structural issues really seriously.

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<v Speaker 1>Like which one if we could tackle one right now,

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<v Speaker 1>in this given moment, what would it be that you

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<v Speaker 1>think the American businesses could really get behind and say

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<v Speaker 1>this is a game change.

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<v Speaker 2>I really think it would be permitting reform. Think about

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<v Speaker 2>the fact that it takes five to seven years to

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<v Speaker 2>get a permit. In that time, you'll have to change

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<v Speaker 2>you administrations most likely, right, So, if you have one

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<v Speaker 2>administration that prefers one type of energy and you have

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<v Speaker 2>a different administration that prefers a different type of energy,

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<v Speaker 2>how do you decide where to invest in, what to build?

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<v Speaker 2>And yet, at the same time, as you've reported, we

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<v Speaker 2>need all of the above.

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<v Speaker 1>Susan, how do we get there? Though? Because I think

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<v Speaker 1>about you know, the American business community, they have a

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<v Speaker 1>great line often to the White House into lawmakers. So

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<v Speaker 1>how do they say, hey, folks, it's not just about

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<v Speaker 1>four years, four years, four years, it's about a ten

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<v Speaker 1>year plan. Chin it does it? It's a whole different country.

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<v Speaker 1>And I know that, But how do we do that

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<v Speaker 1>so that we really commit longer term to build some

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<v Speaker 1>of these things that need that perspective.

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<v Speaker 2>Such a good point, Carol, because we certainly do not

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<v Speaker 2>want a government plan and economy, right, none of us

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<v Speaker 2>are for that, but you're right that we do need

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<v Speaker 2>government to set the conditions so that we can grow,

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<v Speaker 2>so business can solve these problems at scale that society

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<v Speaker 2>really needs answers to. And I think maybe we have

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<v Speaker 2>to do two things a little differently. One is talk

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<v Speaker 2>to more people at the local level, local businesses, local chambers,

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<v Speaker 2>and get them to drive community support for politicians who

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<v Speaker 2>are willing to do some hard things. And two, I

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<v Speaker 2>think businesses are going to have to get more involved

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<v Speaker 2>earlier in the process, in the primary process and really

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<v Speaker 2>thinking about candidates who don't want to just admire the

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<v Speaker 2>problems and say expedient things, but are willing to do

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<v Speaker 2>hard work and take hard votes.

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<v Speaker 3>You know, I think about you sitting in your headquarters

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<v Speaker 3>right right across from Lafia Square, looking out the window

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<v Speaker 3>at that White House. You've been there a lot longer

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<v Speaker 3>than this administration, and to your point, you're going to

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<v Speaker 3>be there for administrations in the future. But this Trump

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<v Speaker 3>administration has embraced crypto in a way that we have

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<v Speaker 3>not seen in a White House before. And of course

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<v Speaker 3>the timing has a lot to do with this, with

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<v Speaker 3>this suddenly kind of going mainstream, and there's clarity act

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<v Speaker 3>that Republicans and some Democrats are hoping to see past

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<v Speaker 3>this this year. In fact, it could be sooner than later.

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<v Speaker 3>Are we managing the rules of the road when it

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<v Speaker 3>comes to crypto in a way that the Chamber can

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<v Speaker 3>support this approach?

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<v Speaker 2>I really like the question, and I really even more

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<v Speaker 2>like the preamble, right, which is we just had our

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<v Speaker 2>one hundred and fourteenth birthday that I know, I don't

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<v Speaker 2>look at day of one hundred and twelve, I really

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<v Speaker 2>feel look amazing, thank you. I really feel the weight

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<v Speaker 2>of the fact that you know, who was the guy

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<v Speaker 2>in my office and the depression or in World War two?

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<v Speaker 2>You know? And how did they think about emerging technologies,

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<v Speaker 2>emerging financial instruments, how did they think about the impact

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<v Speaker 2>on working families and communities and American security and competitiveness,

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<v Speaker 2>and how do we do the long term right things

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<v Speaker 2>while being empathetic to the real short term pain. So

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<v Speaker 2>I think you're preamble was just so important. We actually

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<v Speaker 2>do need institutions with historical memory and reach, and I

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<v Speaker 2>think it's really import.

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<v Speaker 3>Sound like an institutionalist, but the Chamber not taking a

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<v Speaker 3>position on cryptos.

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<v Speaker 2>Look, I think what we want to do is be

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<v Speaker 2>supportive of new technologies at the same time that we

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<v Speaker 2>don't lose sight of what really works in this country

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<v Speaker 2>and the traditional capital markets and traditional financial services.

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<v Speaker 1>We want to be careful watching this so closely. And

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<v Speaker 1>they've gone from pushing back completely not interested to embracing slowly,

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<v Speaker 1>but I think moving carefully. But there is this concern

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<v Speaker 1>we talk about disruption and innovation that how could something

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<v Speaker 1>like the digital world or cryptocurrencies replace so much of

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<v Speaker 1>what the banks do? So a is there a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of perspective that you guys are getting in the banks.

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<v Speaker 2>But what point is that innovation good? And is what

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<v Speaker 2>point is that disruption dangerous? Right? And it's what you're

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<v Speaker 2>always balancing with a new technology. And so I applaud

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<v Speaker 2>these industries, in these companies that are educating Congress and

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<v Speaker 2>getting to a point where we can do something that

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<v Speaker 2>makes sense, it makes sense for business.

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<v Speaker 3>It's of course not just crypto when we think of

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<v Speaker 3>emerging technologies, there's another industrial revolution happening, right, now it

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<v Speaker 3>take the words from Gens and Wong, that's what he

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<v Speaker 3>calls it. How concerned is the chamber about? To your point,

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<v Speaker 3>there are wonderful things that AI is bringing to us,

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<v Speaker 3>but there could also be a negative disruption when it

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<v Speaker 3>comes to the job market. Is that a worry of yours?

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<v Speaker 2>Do you want to hear something cool? The fastest the

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<v Speaker 2>people having the fastest uptake of AI small business? Okay,

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<v Speaker 2>the first technology in the United States that small business

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<v Speaker 2>embraced first, which is really a leveling out right, a

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<v Speaker 2>great equalizer. Last year, the United States had five point

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<v Speaker 2>six million new business starts. That's optimism for you. Some

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<v Speaker 2>of that is that they can do more with AI,

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<v Speaker 2>which is really fascinating. So the answer to questions, of course,

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<v Speaker 2>everyone can see there's a disruption coming. We don't have

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<v Speaker 2>revolutions without some kind of disruption. So how do we

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<v Speaker 2>help people through that? Because we're long term optimistic about

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<v Speaker 2>job growth, about health impact, about the innovation, about what

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<v Speaker 2>it does for our country, we want to compete with

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<v Speaker 2>our adversaries, right, So I think this is a really

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<v Speaker 2>important topic and we're going to have to do reskilling

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<v Speaker 2>and education. But the short term disruption, I think is

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<v Speaker 2>going to lead to a nice hockey stick.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, we need a little bit of optimism. I

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<v Speaker 1>feel like there's a lot of serious stuff we've talked

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<v Speaker 1>about today.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, thank you for the optimism.

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<v Speaker 1>What a pleasure. Thank you so much, Thanks so much

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<v Speaker 1>for having me Zan Clark, President cy of the US

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<v Speaker 1>Chamber of Commerce,