Secretary of State Marco Rubio: Remarks to the International Press

QUESTION:  How was the meeting?

QUESTION:  The trilateral meeting. 

SECRETARY RUBIO:  It was excellent.  We have a great relationship with Japan and the Philippines, and work very closely with them on the economic corridor, on maritime security, and territorial integrity – and continue to build upon that partnership, and look forward to hosting the president of the Philippines in Washington in a few days. 

QUESTION:  Is there progress with Russia? 

QUESTION:  Mr. — 

QUESTION:  Is there progress with Russia after your meeting? 

SECRETARY RUBIO:  We had a productive, I think constructive, and frank meeting.  And hopefully it’ll lead to progress. 

QUESTION:  Mr. Rubio, you mentioned that Lavrov has presented a so-called new approach on Ukraine.  What is that new approach?

SECRETARY RUBIO:  Well, it’s not a new approach.  It’s a new idea, a new concept that will – I’ll take back to the President to discuss.  That new concept is – this new approach is not something that automatically leads to peace, but it could potentially open the door to a path.  But as I said, again, the President’s been pretty clear.  I mean, he’s been frustrated by the lack of progress on a war that he thinks should have never happened – very costly, very bloody.  The President wants to end wars.  He’s not a fan of wars.  He thinks wars are a waste of time and a waste of lives.  And we’re going to continue to do everything we can and engage in every productive way possible to bring an end to this war.

QUESTION:  How was the engagement with (inaudible)?

SECRETARY RUBIO:  With what?  I’m sorry. 

QUESTION:  On tariffs.  How did the engagement with (inaudible) regarding the tariffs?

SECRETARY RUBIO:  With tariffs?

QUESTION:  Yeah.

SECRETARY RUBIO:  Well, every country in the world is going to get a letter at some point, for the most part, about the President’s rebalancing of trade.  The President’s been clear – he’s been clear for 30 years, even before he was in politics, that he felt that the status of global trade was unfair to American workers and the American economy.  And this is an effort to rebalance that at a global scale. 

I would say that when all is said and done, many of the countries in Southeast Asia are going to have tariff rates that are actually better than countries in other parts of the world, and it could be a benefit.  And by the way, the door always remains open to adjustments, if in fact agreements can be reached.  And we are actively in conversations with multiple countries that are represented here on ways to make even further progress.  But the markets demand certainty, and so we need to let everyone know what the baseline is starting August 1st. 

But these talks continue.  There’ll be talks next week with Japan.  There’s ongoing talks with virtually every country represented here.  So, these are important partners.  The history of the 21st century will largely be written in the Indo-Pacific and particularly in Southeast Asia.  This is a part of the world where over 6,000 American companies have invested.  These are important partnerships, both economic and defense cooperation partnerships that we’re not going to abandon and walk away from.  We’re going to continue to build on them.  We think it’s that important.

If you look at the demographics of Southeast Asia, this is the youngest part of the world.  You’re about to see an enormous growth in the labor pool and in workers.  This is an exciting time – an extraordinary, a historic time.  So, we’re excited about what economic cooperation is going to mean in this region, and trade is going to be a key component of it.  We’re – we wanted to be here today to express that and to show that our commitment – we’ve spent decades building these relationships.  Not only are we not going to walk away from them, but we seek to expand them and build upon them with a part of the world that is essential.  The history of the 21st century will be written in Asia, given all the dynamics that are happening here economically, and we intend to be a full part of it.

QUESTION:  Have you received the concern – have you received the concern from the ASEAN foreign minister?

SECRETARY RUBIO:  Have I received the what?  I’m sorry.

QUESTION:  About the tariffs.  Have you received the concern from the —

SECRETARY RUBIO:  Concerns?

QUESTION:  ASEAN foreign minister.  Yes, on the tariffs. 

SECRETARY RUBIO:  I’ve received concerns from foreign ministers of every part of the world about tariffs, obviously.  And – but look, at the end of the day, this is about a rebalancing of our trade relationship.  Different countries have different rates based on the status of our trade, and there is always the opportunity to negotiate.  We’ve seen that with Vietnam already, we’ve seen it with the UK, and I think we’ll see it with several other countries over time. 

QUESTION:  Any developments on the summit between Mr. Trump and Putin?

SECRETARY RUBIO:  Any developments on what?  I’m sorry.

QUESTION:  On the possible summit between Mr. Trump and Putin. 

SECRETARY RUBIO:  On a summit?  No, there’s no summit scheduled yet.

QUESTION:  In the future?

SECRETARY RUBIO:  But look, we’re going to continue to engage with the Russian side on – any time there’s an opportunity to engage with them, we’re going to do so.  I mean, at the end of the day, the United States and Russia still have to have a relationship.  These are two important countries in the world, and we’re going to continue to engage and talk.  And if we see opportunities to make progress on peace, we want to be involved in pursuing that. 

Obviously, Minister Lavrov was here today.  We had an opportunity to discuss some things, and I thought it was important and good that we talked.  And we shared some information and ideas that I intend to take back to the President.  Hopefully, it will lead to something positive.  I can’t guarantee it.  The President has been frustrated at the lack of progress.  He’s made that clear publicly.  But we’ll see if that changes.

QUESTION:  So – but would possible to see the President Trump in coming October ASEAN summit?

SECRETARY RUBIO:  It’s possible, yes.  And I think he’ll —

QUESTION:  ASEAN-U.S.?

SECRETARY RUBIO:  I’m sorry?

QUESTION:  ASEAN-U.S. summit in October.

SECRETARY RUBIO:  Oh, we’re working on getting a date for that, absolutely. 

Okay.  Thank you.

QUESTION:  Thank you.

QUESTION:  Thank you, sir.

QUESTION:  Thank you so much.