Republican presidential candidate and former US president Donald Trump speaks at a recent campaign event in Las Vegas. David Becker/Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump has taken an increasingly hawkish tone toward the United States’ biggest supplier, saying he could impose tariffs of more than 60% on Chinese goods if elected.
In an interview on Fox News, President Trump was asked about a report in the Washington Post that he was considering a 60% across-the-board tariff on Chinese goods, and he said, “No, it would probably be more than that.” Sunday Morning Futures.
Trump, a front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, said he had “done well with China on every front” during his presidency, rejecting criticism that the move would spark a trade war.
The United States imposed multiple tariffs on Chinese goods under the Trump administration, “equivalent to $80 billion in increased taxes on $380 billion worth of imports,” according to the Tax Foundation, a Washington-based research group. That’s what it means. China retaliated by imposing tariffs on imports of American products.
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The Post’s Jan. 27 report triggered currency hedging by traders preparing for market turmoil that policies under Trump’s second term could cause.
President Trump also downplayed comments he made to a Fox News City Council meeting in Iowa in December in which he suggested he would be a dictator “from day one” if elected to a second term in November. Asked about his comments on Sunday’s show, he said he intended to signal immediate action on the U.S.-Mexico border and fossil fuels.
“It’s that simple,” he said. “I’m going to close the borders and I’m going to train, baby, I’m going to train. That’s it. After that, I’m not going to be a dictator. Well, that was said in a joke.”