"Fix this once and for all": Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary shares what he wants to do regarding the tariffs

Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary shared a clip via his Instagram on April 12, 2025, responding to the White House's response to his thoughts on tariffs. The latter part of the clip features him conversing with a Fox News anchor about the tariffs on China.

Responding to that, the Shark Tank mentor acknowledged that he wanted to do "business" with China. He said he didn't have any problems with the Chinese people, but he wanted to "level" the playing field. For that, he accepted that he was fine with the "volatility" as well.

Kevin O'Leary responded:

"So what I want to do, and I'm just throwing it out there, and I'm glad it was brought up today, is let's just shut them down until they get to the table. I want to do business in China. I have no problems with Chinese people. But I want to be in a level playing field this time. I want to fix this once and for all. And I'm willing to live with the volatility. I understand that."

Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary opens up about tariffs on China and how American entrepreneurs are being affected

The video clip that Kevin O'Leary shared featured two parts, including the White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responding to a journalist when he asked about Kevin O'Leary's thoughts on China. The second part was Shark Tank's mentor's discussion with a Fox News representative about the White House's response to Kevin's thoughts on tariffs.

When a journalist questioned about how Kevin O'Leary had previously mentioned that the tariffs on China weren't "enough," the White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, responded:

"Look, the tariff rate on China remains where it was yesterday at the 145% level. The president made it very clear when the United States is punched, he will punch back harder. And he hopes to make a deal that benefits the American worker and our companies that have been ripped off for far too long, and he's finally taking bold and courageous action to do that."

She added that it's been decades since both Democrats and Republicans have been talking about terms of trade and tariffs. For that, President Trump has finally started doing it.

Referring to the Press Secretary's response, the Fox News correspondent asked Kevin O'Leary to share his thoughts.

"It's not enough. I really want to focus on more than just tariffs on China. I want a level of playing field. I speak on behalf of millions of American entrepreneurs who have been ripped off. Where IP's been gone, investors like me who can't get any access to the Chinese courts," he responded.

Kevin O'Leary added that since 2000, all the World Trade Organizations that joined China have been "abusing" it every week. For that, he mentioned there were "thousands of complaints."

"And the one that makes me crazy is they come to the US to tap our markets, our financial markets, our exchanges, raise billions of dollars, and they're not even GAAP compliant," he added.

Hence, to solve that, the Shark Tank mentor stated that he wanted to "shut" them down. Having said that, he admitted that he wants to do business in China and has no issues with Chinese people. But he said that he wanted to have a fair chance.

The O'Leary Ventures chairman added that it was unlike other negotiations with the EU, Mexico, Canada, France, or Switzerland. He mentioned "a zone of friendly trade" at some tariff rate, and referred to it as a "different" problem.

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