Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said that senators are starting to have conversations about what incoming President Donald Trump might do on tariffs, and said, "We'll work through that."
Kevin Brady, who led the House Ways and Means Committee when Congress passed the Trump tax cut package, told reporters that Washington insiders expect "the [next Trump] administration will reinstate [Section] 301 investigations" that were begun when countries moved to collect digital services taxes from U.S. tech firms.
Officials advising Donald Trump on his upcoming administration have been considering tariffs that would gradually increase by 2% to 5% a month, according to a Bloomberg News article based on unnamed sources. The proposal could boost negotiating leverage and avoid a spike in prices, the planners believe. The article said the proposal is in its early phases and hasn't been presented to the president-elect.
President-elect Donald Trump announced plans Jan. 14 to establish an "External Revenue Service" that would collect monies from tariffs, duties and all revenue coming from foreign sources, in a Truth Social post.
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U.S. imports got a boost in December and are likely to be elevated in January compared with year-ago levels, according to the National Retail Federation, as retailers brought in spring merchandise early to hedge against the potential of a labor strike at East Coast and Gulf Coast terminals -- a strike threat that was averted this week (see 2501090003).
The Coalition for a Prosperous America, an advocacy group aligned with President-elect Donald Trump's trade and manufacturing policies, is calling on his administration to reinstate Section 232 tariffs on Mexican steel. "If Mexico continues to breach its commitments, CPA urges the Trump administration to reconsider Mexico’s participation in USMCA altogether," the group wrote in a release issued Jan. 10.
Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Democrat who represents Laredo, Texas, said that if Donald Trump, once he becomes president, were to impose 25% tariffs on Mexico, it would be very disruptive to business in his district. Trump re-upped the threat of those tariffs in a press conference earlier this week (see 2501070027). He had said he would hike tariffs on all Mexican and Canadian goods if Mexico and Canada don't crack down to his satisfaction on migration and drug trafficking into the U.S.
American consumers should take President-elect Donald Trump seriously, but not literally, when it comes to his threats on tariff rates, said Jan Hatzius, chief economist at Goldman Sachs.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., knocked down speculation that tariffs could be part of a tax-cut package in order to offset the costs of extending or expanding individual and business tax cuts passed eight years ago (see 2411120026).