Washington, D.C. – The White House Press Secretary held a news briefing on Wednesday where tariffs were a major topic. Based off various Trump administration statements, the tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China imposed on Tuesday are about stopping illegal immigration, blocking fentanyl smuggling, closing the trade gap, balancing the federal budget and other nations showing more respect for Trump.
eautiful Canadian flag waiving behind a pine tree, radiant red and white colors. (Photo by Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images)
At their core, tariffs are a tax on consumers and a windfall for the U.S. Treasury. “The President does love tariffs. He said it’s one of his favorite words in the English dictionary and he believes in tariffs because they’ll ultimately make America rich again,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Flags of the United States and Mexico
But faced with huge backlash from Canada, and Mexico, Mr. Trump delayed, for a very short time, major tariffs on U.S. automakers with factories in those two countries.
“Reciprocal tariffs will still go into effect on April 2nd, but at the request of the companies associated with USMCA, the president is giving them an exemption for one month so they are not at an economic disadvantage,” said Leavitt. USMCA is the trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada signed during the first Trump administration.
FILE – A Chinese woman adjusts a Chinese flag near US flags before the start of a Strategic Dialogue expanded meeting. (Photo by NG HAN GUAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
A month is not much time to make major manufacturing changes or moves.
“He told them that they should get on it. Start investing. Start moving. Shift production to here, the United States of America, where they will pay no tariff. The president is open to hearing about additional exemptions,” said Leavitt.
Other than that, questions got vague answers, especially as to tariffs affecting prices and inflation. “That requires a little bit of disruption. That requires a lot of effort and work that this president is focused on doing,” Leavitt said.
But when asked how much and when, reporters got no specifics from the White House. “Again, I don’t have a crystal ball. But what I can assure you and the American people is that this president and his administration are doing everything they can,” said Leavitt.
Messaging on X, China flatly rejected the 20% tariffs imposed on it for its part in the deadly fentanyl crisis. “China has exercised strict supervision over fentanyl-related medications, rigorously presented the abuse of fentanyl-related substances and stricken hard the smuggling, manufacturing and trafficking of fentanyl-related substances and related precursor chemicals,” said Chinese reporter and government employee Zhou Saang.
One remark on tariffs was noteworthy. “They’re gonna raise revenue. They’re gonna help us pay down our debt,” said Leavitt.
Canada, Mexico and China, do not pay a dime of the tariffs that go directly into the U.S. Treasury. That money comes from U.S. consumers and businesses in the form of higher prices and lower profits. “He said he is committed to making America affordable again,” said the press secretary,
Like it or not, tariffs impose a hidden tax on consumers that may or may not result in lowering the nation’s deficit or debt, especially if taxes on the super wealthy are cut again.
EconomyBusiness and EconomyWashington, D.C.MoneyNews
Images are for reference only.Images and contents gathered automatic from google or 3rd party sources.All rights on the images and contents are with their legal original owners.