Democratic senator: No reason to doubt Trump is serious about tariffs

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) said Tuesday he is taking seriously President-elect Trump’s threat to impose new tariffs against a trio of countries shortly after he is inaugurated in January, despite potential consternation among members of both sides of the aisle. 

Trump rolled out his plan Monday night to slap 25 percent tariffs on all goods entering the country from Mexico and Canada — two of the U.S.’s top trading partners — and an additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods, many of which are already under tariffs imposed during Trump’s first term.

Schatz told reporters at the Capitol that he is concerned Trump’s plan would result in higher prices on goods for Americans and indicated he is taking Trump’s comments seriously despite speculation they could be the starting point of a negotiation with the U.S.’s neighbors to the north and south.

“Donald Trump has very few policy views over the last 20-30 years. This is the one that he seems to be most enthusiastic about,” Schatz said. “This is, for him, a high principle. So I don’t think there’s any reason to think that he won’t go through with it. Also, the law is pretty clear. He has that authority.”

The Hawaii Democrat added that the plan would likely play a big role in the upcoming push by Republicans to extend the 2017 tax cuts, which are set to expire at the end of 2025. 

“I have no idea whether the Republicans have the guts to try to reverse these price increases — but that’s what they are. They are retail price increases. The goods that are coming from Canada, Mexico and China are all the things that people buy every week,” Schatz said. “It would be nice if we could make all of those things ourselves, but that’s not actually how the world works, and people really do rely on being able to afford what they purchase.” 

“For us, it starts with being really clear with the American people that these tariffs will raise the retail price on most of the stuff you buy,” he continued. “Number two, they are explicitly using this as a pay-for for their tax cuts, which are primarily for multinational corporations. They’re going to increase your prices. They’re going to take that revenue and use it to subsidize further tax cuts for multinationals, and I just think that’s a big loser.” 

Trump said the new levies are intended to push the trio of nations to bolster border security and crack down on fentanyl exports to the U.S.

He issued similar threats during his first term, including a 200 percent tariff on cars imported from Mexico and potential 60 percent versions on Chinese products, but he never followed through on them. 

He did, however, institute tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum from both Canada and Mexico and prompted both counties to scrap the North American Free Trade Agreement, with the three sides eventually agreeing to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. 

Trump also tagged China with billions of dollars worth of tariffs after complaining for years about the U.S. being taken advantage of by the Asian power.

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