Former President Donald Trump declared Monday that “I'm a big believer in tariffs,” and indicated he would likely reimpose tariffs on foreign goods if he wins reelection to a second term.
In an interview with CNBC, Trump pointed to the economic and political benefits of targeting foreign goods entering the United States
“I absolutely believe in them economically when you're being exploited by other countries,” the presumptive Republican nominee said during an interview on “Squawk Box,” referring to tariffs. “Apart from economics, it gives you power in dealing with other countries.”
These comments come at a time when Trump is locked in a close race in the opinion polls with President Joe Biden. With his recent string of victories in the Republican primaries and the withdrawal of all his opponents, Trump appears poised to become the party's nominee in a race where the economy looms large.
During his administration, from 2017 to 2021, Trump imposed a variety of tariffs on China, Mexico, the European Union and other countries. In particular, he imposed a 25% duty on imported steel and aluminum.
In the case of China, many tariffs remain in place under the Biden administration.
“China has been taking advantage of us when it comes to steel,” Trump said. “They've been destroying our entire steel industry, which hasn't done well at all for the last 25 years anyway… because it's been eaten alive by foreign competition.” “I imposed a 50% tax on Chinese steel imports. Everyone in the steel industry, when they saw me, started crying. They were hugging me.”
Trump specifically called out the Chinese auto industry for future targeting.
“China is our boss now,” he said. “They are the leader of the United States, as if we were a subsidiary of China.”
China produced about 30 million vehicles in 2023 and saw a nearly 50% year-on-year increase in January, according to MarkLines. A group of Democratic senators from auto-producing states recently urged Biden to impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles entering the United States.
Trump said he would seek tariffs to try to persuade China to manufacture more of its cars in the United States
“The whole thing about tariffs is very simple. No. 1, it's great economically for us, and it brings our companies back, because if you put tariffs on China, they'll build…their car factories here and they'll do that.” “We will hire our own people,” he said. “We don't want to get cars from China. We want to get cars made by China in the United States using our workers.”
Critics say tariffs are counterproductive because they make imported goods more expensive. However, inflation has been weak during Trump's time in office, with the consumer price index rising less than 8% overall over four years, compared to about 18% under Biden.
