Former president Donald Trump floated the idea of 60% tariffs on goods imported from China during an interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.”
“We have to do it,” Trump said. “No, I would say maybe it’s going to be more than that,” Trump teased. The Washington Post was first to report that the former president is considering a 60% tax on imports from China. In addition to tariffs on China, he is also considering a 10% blanket tariff on all imports.
When Trump imposed $250 billion in tariffs on China as president starting in 2018, China levied tariffs on U.S. imports in an escalating trade war that disrupted international business.
Donald Trump said he would impose tariffs on China again if he is elected in November and they could exceed 60 percent. https://t.co/FvlCJVxbSy pic.twitter.com/q6ml50Smv7
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) February 5, 2024
For Trump, it was nothing personal, just business. “I want China to do great. I do. And I like President Xi a lot,” Trump said. “He was a really good friend of mine during my time.” The 45th president objected to the “trade war” label for the tariffs he levied. “It’s not a trade war. I did great with China with everything.”
But that doesn’t mean Trump trusts China to stay out of the U.S. election this year. He said he expects the U.S. global strategic rival to interfere in American politics to support his adversaries: “I think they will, and they won’t be interfering on my behalf. We should go same-day voting, paper ballots, voter ID, and no mail-in ballots.”
The trade war with China under Trump’s administration cost Americans an estimated $195 billion and 245,000 jobs since 2018, the conservative think tank American Action Forum says. “I mean, look, the stock market almost crashed when it was announced,” Trump acknowledged on Sunday.
“What Donald Trump’s about to do, is he’s going to raise every household’s expenses by $2,600 a year,” said former South Carolina Governor and GOP primary rival Nikki Haley (R) in a recent interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” citing research by the National Taxpayers Union, a fiscally conservative group based in Alexandria, Virginia.
Donald Trump wants to tax every American with a 10% across-the-board tariff, costing families an average of $2,600 a year. They’re already paying skyrocketing prices thanks to Biden and Trump’s inflation. We can’t afford this. pic.twitter.com/TQEj19tc1H
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) January 29, 2024
The two countries eventually agreed in 2020 to keep tariffs from spiraling higher, but the Joe Biden Administration has kept most of the Trump-era tariffs in place.
