On Wednesday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Special Report,” Fox News Chief Political Analyst Brit Hume said that while Republicans and the Trump administration have been committed to cutting taxes, the first taxes under the Trump administration “are higher. Because that’s, in fact, that’s what tariffs are.”
Hume began by saying that the February CPI report is good news for the economy.
After the discussion turned to tariffs, Hume said, “The remarkable thing is, this is a president who’s been committed to cutting taxes and the Republican Party has been committed to cutting taxes for as long, John, as you and I can remember. But here we are in the early phases of this administration, and definitely, they want to keep the income taxes as low as they can and all that. But, the first taxes they’re really seeing that are being put into effect are higher. Because that’s, in fact, that’s what tariffs are. They’re taxes on goods that are being imported into this country or exported from it. And the tendency of tariffs, in the short run, in particular, is to suppress economic activity, and, of course, it also is to drive up prices, and that’s how it suppresses economic activity.”
He continued, “So, it’s something I think the administration has to worry about, although, it obviously believes that, in the long run, the tariffs will be beneficial and our industries will thrive and people will build factories here, and maybe they will. But that’s not something that’s going to happen to keep prices down next week, next month, or even next year. So, we have a way to go here. It may take a while for the tariffs to work their way into products, but the chances of higher prices, it seems to me, from tariffs, is a legitimate concern.”
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