Former President and current Republican 2024 frontrunner Donald Trump vowed on Sunday to impose tariffs on China if he is elected this year. He indicated they could rise above 60%.
Interviewed on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” the 45th president declared, “we have to do it. I mean, look, the stock market almost crashed when it was announced that I won the Iowa primary in a record.”
Questioned about reports that he would hike tariffs to 60% on Chinese products, Trump did not back down. “No, I would say maybe it’s going to be more than that.” That is quite believable considering his track record of dealing with the U.S.’s largest competitor.
Former President Donald Trump said he would impose tariffs on China again if he is elected in November, and they could exceed 60 percent. MORE:https://t.co/FvlCJVxbSy pic.twitter.com/mvxXviqsof
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) February 4, 2024
During his administration in 2018 and 2019, Trump imposed hundreds of billions in tariffs on Chinese goods pouring into the country. This sparked competition between the world’s two largest economies, and the U.S. prospered.
Those tariffs were some of the few Trump initiatives that the Biden White House held onto.
The former president rejected the possibility of a trade war. “I did great with China with everything. I want China to do great, I do. And I like President Xi a lot. He was a very good friend of mine during my term.”
Trump has previously announced he would impose a 10% tariff on all goods imported into the U.S.
The former president’s only remaining challenger, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, blasted his proposal to target the nation’s leading competitor.
Last month, she claimed Trump’s plan would “raise every household’s expenses by $2,600 a year.”
The former president on Sunday further addressed a joke he made at a Fox News town hall in Iowa in December. Trump suggested he would be a dictator “for day one,” and leftist media mouthpieces shrilly announced he exposed his true ambition for leading the nation.
When asked, Trump clarified that he was referencing getting a firm grip on the U.S.-Mexico border and the nation’s energy situation.
He explained, “It’s very simple. I’m going to close the border and we’re going to drill, baby, drill. That’s all. And then after that, I’m not going to be a dictator. Now, that was said in jest.”
