When Donald Trump takes office, expect one of his first acts to be imposing tariffs. Despite his critics’ charges, tariffs are hardly unprecedented or responsible for many of the consequences for which they are blamed.
On Jan. 15, Trump wrote on Truth Social, “I am today announcing that I will create the EXTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE to collect our Tariffs, Duties, and all Revenue that come from Foreign sources.”
It is time to set the record straight on Trump and tariffs.
Except for the Civil War income tax’s life, tariffs were America’s primary revenue source until well into the 20th century. They didn’t just disappear once overtaken by taxes — they have been a constant revenue source since.
Tariffs already exist on many goods coming into the U.S., including anything that doesn’t come from the 20 countries we have trade treaties with. America has a trade-weighted average import tariff rate of 2.0 percent on industrial goods. With half of all America’s imported industrial goods entering duty-free, many goods face tariff rates above 2 percent. […]
— Read More: thefederalist.com
