National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett analyzes the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on ‘Kudlow.’
National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett indicated that conversations with “other countries” on reciprocal tariffs are ongoing, telling the press that it remains a “high priority” for President Donald Trump.
“Reciprocal tariffs are absolutely a high priority for the president, [they] have been forever. You know, our trading partners charge us way more in tariffs than we charge them. And it’s something he talked about before,” Hassett said in a White House press gaggle Wednesday morning.
“And there’s got to be a lot more action on it today,” he continued. “We even started to have negotiations with other countries. Early this morning I was doing that.”
Trump’s 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada could take effect next month after both countries were granted a 30-day pause; the U.S. and China have enacted reciprocal across-the-board 10% tariffs as a phone call looms between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping; and just this week, Trump announced 25% tariffs on aluminum and steel imports.
TRUMP IS PLAYING A DANGEROUS TARIFF GAME DESPITE HIS ‘REALLY STRONG’ AGENDA, U.S. ECONOMIST WARNS
Tariffs are taxes levied on imported goods and services. While they historically played a more significant role in contributing to federal tax revenue, developed countries have moved away from relying on tariffs as a main source of funding and have shifted to other forms of taxes – such as income, payroll or sales taxes.
White House National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett indicated that reciprocal tariff negotiations are ongoing with “other countries.” (Getty Images)
In the U.S., tariffs are collected by the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency, which is a subagency of the Department of Homeland Security. Trump has proposed creating an “External Revenue Service” that would be responsible for collecting tariffs, though it’s unclear whether that plan will move forward.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent addresses President Donald Trump’s economic and fiscal goals during his first interview on ‘Kudlow’ since joining the administration.
President Trump has also discussed using tariffs to take the U.S. economy back to its “golden age,” potentially eliminating the federal income tax and predominantly supporting government spending with tariffs.
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MonetaryMacro.com CIO Joseph Wang argues President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada and Mexico are more than just a negotiating tactic on ‘Making Money.’
“We were talking about just laying the groundwork for discussions over reciprocal trade,” Hassett said further of Wednesday’s alleged meetings. “The person leading those discussions today was Howard Lutnick, of course. But I was on those calls too.”
It’s all “a work in progress,” Hassett added. “Everybody’s talking about it right now. And actually, the conversations with other countries began this morning really early… You might see an announcement about progress or also guidelines of the things that [Trump’s] thinking after having some exchanges of views with foreign people today and yesterday. It’s more of an outline.”
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FOX Business’ Eric Revell contributed to this report.
