Flashback: Biden's Commerce Secretary Admitted Trump's Tariffs Work
As Democratic politicians freak out about what President Donald Trump’s tariff policies might do to the economy, it’s worth noting that Biden administration officials kept his tariffs because they knew they worked.
Shortly after taking office for his second term, Trump said he would be imposing 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada, as well as an additional 10 percent on communist China.
The president justified the move, saying all three nations were not doing enough to stem the flow of fentanyl and illegal immigrants into the country and all enjoyed significant trade surpluses with the U.S.
Trump has since paused for 30 days imposing tariffs on Mexico and Canada, noting both had agreed to greatly enhance their border security operations. However, he did allow the increased tariff on China to go forward last week.
Beijing responded by placing a 10 percent tariff on crude oil, agricultural equipment, larger cars and pickup trucks, as well as an additional 15 percent tariff on coal and natural gas.
🚨 | BREAKING: CHINA just parried with a 10% tariff on U.S. oil and 15% on coal & LNG in a desperate counter to President Trump’s trade offensive.
Here’s the problem for China: they NEED U.S. energy. We don’t need their junk.
Trump is playing 4D chess, and Xi is running out of… pic.twitter.com/NHtgBjiHUc
— Hank™ (@HANKonX) February 4, 2025
Early in the Biden administration, in April 2021, then-Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo conceded that the Trump tariffs put in place against China and other nations during his first term were working.
“With respect to tariffs, there is a place for tariffs. You know the 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum have, in fact, helped save American jobs in the steel and aluminum industries. So what do we do with tariffs? We have to level the playing field. No one can outcompete the American worker if the playing field is level,” the secretary said.
“And the fact is China has — China’s actions are uncompetitive, coercive, underhanded. They’ve proven they’ll do whatever it takes,” Raimondo continued. “And so I plan to use all the tools in my toolbox, as aggressively as possible, to protect American workers and businesses from unfair Chinese practices.”
Raimondo made similar points during an interview with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle the previous month.
“Former President Trump … put tariffs on those things being imported into this country. Do you plan to keep those tariffs in place?” Ruhle asked.
“Let me say, those tariffs have been effective,” Raimondo responded. “The data show that those tariffs have been effective. And I think what President Biden has said is we’re going to have a ‘whole of government’ review of all of these policies, and decide what it makes sense to maintain.”
Biden, in fact, kept the tariffs on China in place.
Trump imposed tariffs on various Chinese products during his first term at a rate reaching as high as 25 percent.
According to the Tax Foundation, as of March 2024, those tariffs raised $233 billion since 2018.
During the campaign, Trump proposed a new 10 to 20 percent tariff on all goods from all countries coming into the U.S., and increasing them even higher on China from its current 25 percent level.
The Tax Foundation calculated if the 10 percent plan became policy, it would generate about $280 billion in revenue per year, increasing to $365 billion by 2033.
It seems feasible the money raised could fund Trump’s plans for no tax on tips, overtime, and Social Security.
Despite claims during Trump’s first term that tariffs would be inflationary, they turned out not to be. When he left office in January 2021, inflation was at an annual rate of 1.4 percent.
If tariffs are applied strategically, as they were during the president’s first term, there is no reason to believe they would be inflationary this go-around, either.
The main cause of inflation during Biden’s term was pumping way too much Federal Reserve-created money into an economy that was already well on its way to recovery by early 2021.
Tariffs, employed as a way to rebalance trade and address unfair trade practices, are just what is needed economically at this time.
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