(RepublicanNews.org) – The Republican presidential frontrunner has shared some of his financial policy ideas during a closed-door meeting with Republican lawmakers. Speaking on Thursday, June 13th, on Capitol Hill, Donald Trump shared his intention to build on the pro-tariff policies he implemented during his previous tenure as president.
After hinting at the possibility of such a policy during a recent Las Vegas rally, Trump is reported to have explained his aims in more detail to GOP lawmakers some days later, although only some of that detail has been made public at this time. Trump explained that he wants to phase out the use of income tax as a source of federal revenue. In his proposal, the government would instead raise funds by implementing a more severe raft of tariffs than are currently in place, possibly with a flat 10% tax applied to all imported products.
Trump already used tariffs against foreign companies in his previous presidency to encourage companies to increase production and jobs in the U.S., and similar protectionist policies were put in place by his successor. However, despite Pres. Biden signing off on similar tariffs, they became virtually impossible to enforce due to various exemptions rolled out by his Treasury Department.
Trump’s aim to replace income tax entirely with tariffs would be difficult, and he is reported to have acknowledged that tariffs would not be able to immediately replace the deficit left by no longer taking income tax. Critics have pointed out that as the U.S. government currently takes $2.5 trillion in income tax each year, applying tariffs to the $3.8 trillion of imported goods and services is unlikely to come close to covering the shortfall.
Some have also raised concerns that applying levies to foreign businesses could result in other countries acting similarly. If other countries apply hefty tariffs on American goods and services, this could badly damage the export economy. Likewise, making consumer products entering the country could simply hit ordinary Americans’ wallets and hurt the economy.
Trump, however, does not seem fazed. He has not yet revealed many details of his plans to the public but did take to his social media site “Truth Social” to describe the meeting with Republicans in positive terms.
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