Trump says tariffs are incentivizing US investment, hurting China

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that his administration’s tariffs are incentivizing investment in the U.S., while China is "doing very poorly right now." 

"I heard Samsung is -- now because of the tariffs -- they're going to build massive facilities in the United States," Trump said during a Cabinet meeting. "If we didn't do the tariffs, they wouldn't be doing that." 

Trump said earlier this month that he has attracted over $7 trillion in private investments since being elected, from companies like Apple, Eli Lilly, and Stargate, as well as countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Japan.

"We have more money being spent than at any time in the history of our country. We're up to close to $8 trillion, I think I can say," he told reporters Wednesday. "And that includes chip companies, car companies. Every form of manufacturing, high-tech companies. Nobody's ever seen anything like it."

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"What they need is an incentive to come in, and the tariffs-- they're building because of the tariffs. And I like to say they're building because of November 5, the election and the tariffs. But I'm going to be a little more blunt. They're building because of the tariffs. And November 5 gave them the tariffs," Trump also said.

Meanwhile, China "is doing very poorly right now" in its trade war with the U.S., according to Trump.

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"I just saw some reports coming out -- and I don't want that to happen to China -- I like the president a lot. President Xi, I don't want it to happen. I was actually saddened to hear it. But they are getting absolutely hammered in China," Trump said.

"They're sending boats, the biggest boats in the world, carrying cargo like nobody's ever seen before. These are the biggest boats in the world, the biggest cargo ships in the world. And they're coming and they're turning around in the Pacific Ocean. They're doing a big U-turn and going back because they don't want the goods. Because 145% tariff. But at a certain point, I hope we're going to make a deal with China," Trump continued.

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"We're talking to China, but their factories are closing all over China because we're not taking their product. We don't want their product unless they're going to be fair with us. And that includes intellectual property and other things. There are a lot of things far beyond just buy/sell. So we'll see what happens," Trump said. "I want China to do well. I want every country to do well, but they have to treat us fairly also." 

FOX Business' Greg Wehner contributed to this report.