Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) on Tuesday rejected President-elect Trump's threat to impose new tariffs on three countries immediately after taking office in January, even though lawmakers on both sides of the aisle may be confused. , said it is taking it seriously.
President Trump on Monday night imposed a 25% tariff on all goods entering the country from Mexico and Canada, two major U.S. trading partners, and an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods, many of which are already subject to tariffs. The plan was announced. President Trump's first term.
Schatz told reporters at the Capitol that he was concerned that Trump's plan would lead to higher prices for Americans and could serve as a starting point for negotiations with America's neighbors to the north and south. Despite speculation that he did, he indicated he was taking Trump's comments seriously.
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“Donald Trump has had very few policy views over the last 20 to 30 years. This seems to be what he's most passionate about,” Schatz said. “For him, this is a noble principle. So I don't think there's any reason to think he won't go through with it. And the law is very clear. He has the authority to do that.”
The Hawaii Democratic lawmaker added that the plan is likely to play a big role in Republicans' future push to extend the 2017 tax cuts, which expire at the end of 2025.
“I don't know if Republicans have the courage to try to reverse these price increases, but that's what they're really about: increasing retail prices. All the goods that come from Canada, Mexico, and China are things that people buy every week. ,” Schatz said. “It would be nice if we could make all these things ourselves, but the world doesn't really work that way. People depend on being able to actually buy what they buy.”
“For us, it starts with making sure Americans clearly understand that these tariffs will increase the retail price of most items you buy,” he continued. “Secondly, they are clearly using this as compensation for tax breaks that are primarily aimed at multinational corporations. They are going to raise your prices. They are trying to subsidize further tax cuts, but I think that's a big loss.”
President Trump said the new tax is aimed at encouraging the three countries to tighten their borders and crack down on fentanyl exports to the United States.
During his first term, he made similar threats, including a 200 percent tariff on cars imported from Mexico and the possibility of a 60 percent tariff on Chinese goods, but he has not followed through on them. There wasn't.
However, he imposed tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum from both Canada and Mexico, prompting both counties to abandon the North American Free Trade Agreement, and the three sides eventually agreed to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
President Trump also imposed billions of dollars worth of tariffs on China after years of complaints that the United States was being taken advantage of by the Asian power.
