Marking a shift in rhetoric, US President Donald Trump has acknowledged that US consumers are paying more for products because of tariffs, but insisted that overall the tariff policy has been beneficial, Reuters reports.
Trump has used tariffs as a diplomatic and political weapon since returning to the White House, and has long insisted that foreign countries are the ones who fill the US purse with taxes. Economists, in turn, have pointed out that the tariffs are paid by the end consumer.
On the 5th of November, US Supreme Court justices expressed concerns about the legality of Trump’s tariffs, and the case has a major impact on how Trump runs the country. The president has warned that it would be disastrous if he were stripped of his authority to impose tariffs, and on the 6th of November said his administration needed a backup plan in case it did.
Trump was also asked during a press conference whether he agreed that Americans would pay the price for tariffs. The president said he did not. While he acknowledged that Americans pay for tariffs in some way,
he also said that Americans benefit far more overall.
For months, Trump has insisted that other countries would pay the tariffs, and has raised tariffs on goods from China, Canada and the European Union. Eliminating tariffs from Trump’s toolbox would remove a tool that the president has said has helped him end conflicts between nations and bring economic justice to Americans.
Speaking about a possible unfavorable ruling against him, Trump said that it would be a blow to the country, but that it was necessary to develop a backup plan, and then we would see what would happen. He said he hoped to win, and could not imagine that anyone would want to harm the US so bad.
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