With just weeks left for US President-elect Donald Trump to take office, his aides are reportedly exploring a plan to turn the Republican leader’s campaign promise to impose universal tariffs on imports from abroad into policy. Ahead of the presidential elections, Donald Trump has called for “universal” tariffs of up to 10 or 20 percent on all imports into the United States and a 60 percent tariff on goods from China.
However, the Republican leader’s aides believe some adjustments may need to be made to the original plan to accommodate political or economic realities, CNN reported, citing three sources familiar with the development.
According to the report, the Trump team is trying to come up with plans that cut the sweeping tariff cuts the president-elect has proposed as a candidate. They are reportedly exploring the possibility of imposing tariffs on a subset of key industries to highlight trade imbalances and boost US manufacturing activity – either before or alongside a broader tariff program.
Sources said discussions on the policy are still active as no final decision has been taken yet.
Earlier, a report by The Washington Post said Trump’s team was making a major change from its plans during the 2024 presidential campaign by exploring tariff plans that would apply to every country but would only cover critical imports. .
However, the President-elect objected to the article’s description, saying the move would undermine his campaign pledge. “The Washington Post, quoting so-called anonymous sources who do not exist, incorrectly states that my tariff policy will be rolled back. This is false,” he wrote on his Truth social platform on Monday.
If implemented, Trump’s team’s tariff plan could be one of the biggest challenges to the global trading system in decades. This could invite retaliation from the rest of the world and raise prices for consumers and businesses.
However, his economic advisers reportedly view the effort as essential to bringing manufacturing jobs back to the US economy. They are considering options about how to move forward with something that resembles Trump’s original proposal but limits the impact on the stock market and consumer prices.
Even before implementation, Trump’s plans are reportedly facing opposition in his own camp, with the incoming Treasury Secretary, hedge fund investor Scott Besant, “not completely sold” on the idea of ​​universal tariffs on all goods. , CNN reported, citing people who spoke to him.
Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who worked on international economic policy during his first term, recently said that “probably more work needs to be done” on tariffs on China.
However, Trump’s choice for Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has reportedly supported using tariffs as a negotiating tactic and his confidant and former economic adviser Larry Kudlow has also suggested that tariffs would offset the cost of the tax cuts. Can compensate.
