CNBC’s Joe Kernen Laments Trump Administration’s ‘Self-Inflicted’ Economic Wound
CNBC’s Joe Kernen described a drastic drop in international travel to the United States “self-inflicted” amid President Donald Trump’s trade wars.
U.S. Travel Association CEO Geoff Freeman joined Squawk Box on Tuesday to discuss significant drops in travel to the United States, which could lose the country billions in potential spending by tourists.
“Commerce Department data shows international travel to the United States dropped in March, visits from Canada and Western Europe were down year over year, putting billions of dollars in spending at stake,” Kernen said, kicking off Tuesday’s segment on falling travel and its economic impact.
“In 2015, we had a $50 billion travel trade surplus. Okay. Foreign travelers spending more in the United States than Americans were spending abroad. Today we have a$ 50 billion travel-trade deficit. Okay. So we’ve had a hundred billion dollar swing in 10 years, and we really haven’t gotten to the bottom of why aren’t these travelers coming to the United State?” Freeman explained.
The Covid-19 pandemic was a major setback to travel and the U.S. has yet to return to pre-pandemic numbers, Freeman added.
“I think the question is what’s the plan going forward? We need these travelers here, obviously, from a job standpoint, a spending standpoint. And when these travelers come, they do nothing more than come spend their money and go home and tell their friends and family to do the same thing. It’s free money. So discouraging these travelers, letting this deficit grow is only to your point as we seek to balance the trade deficit, we’re only digging a deeper hole,” Freeman argued.
Kernen noted that a 1% drop in international visitor spending is equivalent to a loss of $1.8 billion.
“People are wondering what does the future hold, we’re seeing booking windows shrink, so that uncertainty is certainly something we need to address as we move forward,” Freeman said.
“Couldn’t do anything about the pandemic, but this is, again, self-inflicted,” Kernen noted.
Freeman agreed there’s a “level” of self-infliction, but said upcoming events like the World Cup and Olympics present potential turning points.
“We understand, obviously, what needs to be done on the trade front. We understand what needs to be to seal the border,” Freeman argued on Tuesday. “How do we combine that with the message that we you to want you come to United States because we certainly can’t afford to drive these visitors away.”
Watch above via CNBC.
