Quotes
I always say tariffs are the most beautiful words to me in the dictionary,
President Donald Trump said at his inauguration
President Trump's Inauguration Day policy announcements on tariffs were more benign than expected,
said Alec Phillips, chief U.S. political economist at Goldman Sachs, in a note to clients
Pursuing protectionism is just like locking one's self in a dark room. Wind and rain might be kept outside but so are light and air."
Ding referenced Chinese president Xi Jinping's 2017 speech
That is a war that’s dying to be settled. I will get it settled before I even become president,
Trump said during a September debate with Vice President Kamala Harris in Philadelphia
I think we’ll do it February 1st.”
When asked when the tariffs would be imposed, Trump said
Well, there’s only half a day. I have another half a day left. We’ll see. We want to get it done.”
When President Trump was asked in the Oval Office on Monday about his promise to end the war on day one, Trump saidIt has nothing to do with that,
he said when asked directly about the claim by a reporter
This isn’t a long process to set the stage,
Navarro added,I think you could call it the blueprint and the foundation for the tariffs and trade policies that may or may not emerge over the next 100 days,
Navarro said of the president’s orderI'll quote my predecessor Richard [Galanti]. He'd say when it rains, it rains on everybody. And I think for us, we faced tariffs in the past, and we believe that our merchants and buyers are equipped, as anybody is, to sort of work through and navigate and manage that situation."
As Costco CFO Gary Millerchip put it on the company's December earnings callWe view Trump's decision against announcing new tariffs on his first day in office as evidence of the ongoing internal debate over how best to implement the duties, not as a sign of plans to significantly scale back or withdraw his campaign pledges to impose new duties on foreign goods,
Beacon Policy Advisors wrote in a research noteWe are thinking in terms of 25% on Mexico and Canada because they are allowing vast numbers of people — Canada is a very bad abuser also — to come in and fentanyl to come in. We will do it February 1st”.
During an expansive conversation with reporters at Oval Office, while signing executive orders on Monday, Trump said
The United States Trade Representative shall review the Economic and Trade Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the People’s Republic of China to determine whether the PRC is acting in accordance with this agreement, and shall recommend appropriate actions to be taken based upon the findings of this review, up to and including the imposition of tariffs or other measures as needed,
Trump said in the order, taking no immediate action but leaving the door open for it in the futureI am establishing a robust and reinvigorated trade policy that promotes investment and productivity, enhances our Nation’s industrial and technological advantages, defends our economic and national security, and benefits American workers, manufacturers, farmers, ranchers, entrepreneurs, and businesses.”
The President saidSpecifically, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Commerce shall assess and make recommendations regarding how to maintain, obtain, and enhance our Nation’s technological edge and how to identify and eliminate loopholes in existing export controls — especially those that enable the transfer of strategic goods, software, services, and technology to countries to strategic rivals and their proxies…They shall assess and make recommendations regarding export control enforcement policies and practices, and enforcement mechanisms to incentivise compliance by foreign countries, including appropriate trade and national security measures,
the order saysUS businesses would welcome a deliberative approach that identifies unfair trade practices and helps Americans succeed in the global economy,
said Jake Colvin, president of the National Foreign Trade Council, which represents a broad swath of large American companies on trade matters
Tariffs are going to make us rich as hell,
Trump later told supporters at Capital One Arena in WashingtonWe may. But we're not ready for that yet."
Asked by reporters at the White House whether he would impose a universal tariff on all imports into the United States, Trump said