Republican Senator Ted Cruz has expressed his apprehension of the tariffs unveiled by President Donald Trump on Wednesday.
“Tariffs are a tax on consumers, and I’m not a fan of jacking up taxes on American consumers,” the Texas senator told Fox Business’ Larry Kudlow on Thursday. “So my hope is these tariffs are short-lived and they serve as leverage to lower tariffs across the globe.”
In his highly anticipated “Liberation Day” speech, Trump announced 10 percent across-the-board tariffs on all U.S. imports, along with reciprocal tariffs aimed at countries viewed as engaging in unfair trade practices with the U.S.. These targeted tariffs include rates of up to 34 percent on China, 20 percent on the European Union, and 24 percent on Japan.
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Cruz acknowledged that the new tariffs could have the effect of pushing America’s trading partners into lowering their own trade barriers, after which the U.S. could pull back on its protectionist policies.
“That would be a great outcome, that would be good for America,” he said.
However, Cruz added that another potential consequence would be trading partners “jacking up” their own tariffs, resulting in “high tariffs everywhere.”
“I think that is a bad outcome for America,” he told Kudlow.
This is a breaking story. More to follow.