National Taxpayers Union on Tuesday sounded caution on President-elect Donald Trump’s newly announced plans for significant new import taxes targeting goods from Canada, Mexico, and China.
The proposed tariffs would impose a 25% tax on imports from Canada and Mexico and an additional 10% tax on imports from China in addition to Section 301 Tariffs already in place from the first Trump administration and kept by the Biden administration.
“President-elect Trump’s stated purpose to stop fentanyl from Mexico and China is an admirable goal, but tariffs aren’t the solution. Working Americans will pay more due to these trade taxes and our farmers and manufacturers will be clobbered by retaliatory tariffs. This is a lose-lose situation for Americans at a time when we need to reduce—not increase—the runaway inflation that we’ve suffered through under President Biden,” said Bryan Riley, Director of the Free Trade Initiative at the National Taxpayers Union.
Based on 2023 import data, the potential tax increase would average more than $2,000 per U.S. household.
Trump plans to use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to set his proposal in motion. The lame-duck Congress in session now has options to limit such executive powers with legislation already introduced, such as:
- The No Taxation Without Representation Act
- The Congressional Trade Accountability Act
- The Prevent Tariff Abuse Act
“During the current lame duck session, Congress’s priority should be reclaiming its constitutional authority to have a say on potential import-tax increases. Otherwise, it will remain helpless to stop large executive-branch tax hikes that could raise prices, prompt foreign countries to retaliate against U.S. exporters, weaken the economy, and cost Americans trillions of dollars,” according to a recent op-ed written by Riley.
As a trade policy alternative, Riley said that Trump’s Zero for Zero bargaining position in his first term would lower costs for American families by brokering deals to open markets to U.S. exports and bringing more investment to the United States.
Bryan Riley is a subject matter expert on trade and tariffs and is available for interviews.