Trump wants more tariffs. His earlier trade wars cost Americans $230 billion to date

When former President Donald Trump was in the White House, he proudly referred to himself as a “Tariff Man” – and he has no intention of retiring that self-proclaimed title if reelected.

When former President Donald Trump was in the White House, he proudly referred to himself as a “Tariff Man” – and he has no intention of retiring that self-proclaimed title if reelected. Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of imposing a 10% tariff on every good coming into the US, as well as a tariff upward of 60% on all Chinese imports if he regains the presidency. On Saturday, during a campaign rally, he promised a “100% tariff” on cars made outside the US and warned of a “bloodbath” for the American auto industry if he doesn’t get reelected. Starting in 2018, Trump put new tariffs of up to 25% on washing machines, solar panels, steel and aluminum, as well as many Chinese-made goods including baseball hats, luggage, bicycles, TVs and sneakers – and President Joe Biden has left most of these tariffs in place. There could be many different reasons for imposing tariffs. Biden’s top trade official recently called them “a tool for remedying unfair trade.” But tariffs don’t bring in revenue from foreign countries, as Trump often claims. It’s American importers – not China or any other foreign country or company – that pays the tariffs. “A tariff is just a form of a tax,” said Erica York, a senior economist and research director at the conservative-leaning Tax Foundation. “It’s the US purchaser, the importer of those goods, that makes the physical payment to the US government,” she added.