On Tuesday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Special Report,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that “the tariffs could bring in a substantial amount of revenue for the government” but they’re also used for other things like making trade fairer and negotiating on things like fentanyl and he believes that “very little” of the cost of tariffs will be passed on to consumers.
Host Bret Baier asked, [relevant exchange begins around 7:05] “Do you plan to pay for things with tariffs coming in? And how does that factor into tariffs possibly being passed on to consumers?”
Bessent answered, “President Trump uses tariffs unlike any president in modern times. And, we think about it three ways: One can be revenues for the government. Two can be to make trade fair. Because a lot of our trading partners do not treat us fairly. And three, President Trump uses them for negotiating, as he did with Colombia, as you’re seeing with Mexico, with Canada with the fentanyl crisis that we’re having. So, there is a chance that the tariffs could bring in a substantial amount of revenue for the government. So, for instance, a 10% global tariff would bring in 2.5 trillion over 10 years.”
Baier then asked, “But what would that mean for the consumer if you’re fighting inflation at the same time?”
Bessent responded, “I think one of the — in what we’re hearing and seeing, I think that very little of that would be passed on to the consumer. I think the currency adjusts, I think that, especially China, that the companies on the other side, the exporters are going to eat a lot of the cost, and then, three, I think, for overall inflation, when we get energy prices down, when we deregulate, that, as we saw in President Trump’s first term, inflation’s going to be under control, at the Fed’s target of 2%, probably less.”
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