President-elect Donald Trump’s former trade chief and those close to him are preparing to aggressively sell their plans for massive new tariffs on imports that will go far beyond anything seen in Trump’s first term.
Robert Lighthizer, a gruff Ohio-born trade lawyer, and his allies have been circulating memos among themselves as they prepare to convince lawmakers and the public that their plans for dramatically higher tariffs will energize the economy instead of tanking it, according to a document viewed by POLITICO, provided by a person close to the policy planning.
Advisers close to Lighthizer and the Trump transition also have been talking to key lawmakers and congressional staff about how Congress might even take a role in imposing the incoming administration’s tariff plans through legislation — an action that would signify a break from mainstream economic policymaking embraced by both parties for decades but would also prevent the tariffs from being unilaterally revoked by a future president.
The economic justification for the tariffs could be released by Trump allies in the coming weeks, said the person, and will show “the failures of economic models to accurately predict changes to the economy” as a result of tariffs. Trump’s proposals, which aim to promote domestic manufacturing and lessen reliance on foreign countries, include a “universal” tariff of up to 20 percent on all goods coming into the U.S. and at least a 60 percent tariff on all imports from China.
