"Trump Team Discusses Gradual Tariff Increase of 2-5% Monthly"

The incoming economic team of the Donald Trump administration in the United States is discussing a plan to gradually increase tariffs by 2-5% each month. The strategy is to use tariffs as leverage to enhance foreign negotiation power while avoiding a rebound in inflation caused by this.

Reuters Yonhap News

원본보기 아이콘

Bloomberg News reported on the 13th (local time), citing sources, that Trump’s second-term economic team, including Scott Bessent, the nominee for Secretary of the Treasury, Kevin Hassett, the nominee for Chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), and Steve Mnuchin, the nominee for Chairman of the President’s Economic Advisory Board, is reviewing such a plan.

Specifically, measures such as increasing tariffs by 2-5% each month through the exercise of executive authority, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), are being considered. However, Bloomberg added that this is still in the early stages of discussion and has not yet been officially proposed to President-elect Trump.

This gradual tariff increase aligns with the proposal recently made by Mnuchin, who was selected as the CEA chairman for Trump’s second-term administration, in a foreign media interview where he emphasized the need to minimize the economic impact. This is a measure taken in consideration of concerns that the so-called 'Trump tariffs' could cause inflation to surge again and inevitably create headwinds for the stock market and the overall economy. The news agency noted, "The threat of Trump tariffs is regarded as a risk to growth prospects," and pointed out that retaliatory tariffs by other countries could lead to a rebound in inflation, complicating the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decisions.

President-elect Trump, who will be inaugurated on the 20th, has already announced that he will impose a universal tariff of up to 20% on all imports from day one and a high tariff rate of up to 60% on imports from China. Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), expressed concerns about future uncertainties during a press conference in Washington DC on the 10th, stating, "The mere threat of Trump’s tariffs has already caused long-term borrowing costs worldwide to soar."

© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.