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President Trump is raising tariffs to make it harder to ship Americans’ jobs overseas, Vice President J.D. Vance said Thursday, arguing the “globalist” economy pushed by former presidents was a failure that awarded elites and other nations.
“We borrow money from Chinese peasants to buy the things those Chinese peasants manufacture,” Mr. Vance told “Fox & Friends,” outlining the flaws in the current system.
Mr. Trump announced a 10% baseline tariff on all imports and higher, reciprocal levies on dozens of nations that impose high levies on U.S. goods entering their countries.
“He ran on that, he promised it, and now he’s delivering,” Mr. Vance said.
The vice president pointed to the number of blue-collar workers in the Rose Garden crowd who cheered Mr. Trump’s decision to abandon the status quo.
“That has been awful for Main Street,” Mr. Vance said. “What I saw yesterday in the Rose Garden was incredible enthusiasm.”
SEE ALSO: Trump imposes a 10% baseline tariff, reciprocal tariffs on ‘worst offender’ nations
Tariffs are a tax or duty paid by importers on the goods they bring in from foreign markets. Mr. Trump says tariffs are a great way to force companies to return to America or keep their operations in the U.S., employ American workers and create revenue to fund domestic programs.
Foreign countries don’t pay the tariffs directly to the U.S. Treasury. In many cases, U.S. companies will pay the levies, and they might pass on at least some of the cost to consumers through higher prices.
Global markets and foreign allies are shuddering over the tariff plan. Dow Futures tumbled more than 1,000 points early Thursday, while Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said the tariffs are a “major blow” to businesses and consumers. She said Europe is ready to retaliate if the two sides cannot negotiate down trade barriers.
“This is a big change,” Mr. Vance said. “I’m not going to shy away from it, but we needed a big change.”
The biggest worry among economists and lawmakers is that tariffs will raise consumer prices despite Mr. Trump’s pledge to tame inflation. Higher inflation would make it harder for the Federal Reserve to slash interest rates.
Mr. Vance said the Trump administration is fighting hard to bring down overall costs. He cited recent efforts to slash regulations and bring energy costs down.
“We are not going to fix things overnight,” Mr. Vance said.
English (US) ·