On Tuesday’s broadcast of Bloomberg’s “Balance of Power,” Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) stated that raising revenue and extracting concessions are both goals of President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.
Co-host Kailey Leinz asked, “[I]f we could first begin with tariffs, because that has dominated the news cycle in the last several days, how are you viewing what President Trump is actually using these levies for, if it was just to extract concessions from Canada and Mexico or if this is really about raising revenue to pay for tax cuts?”
Hagerty responded, “Well, the answer is both. But President Trump was very clear when he imposed the tariffs on Canada and Mexico that they needed to do something dramatic to stop the flow of illegal migrants coming into our country, the flow of fentanyl coming into our country, the human trafficking. That has been the primary and overarching concern. And I’ve made it clear to my — to the people that have reached out to me from both nations that it’s clear that there’s something that they can do about it, they need to step up, and, frankly, they have. President Trump was clear about what he wanted to see happen and the Mexican government and the Canadian government, they’re both stepping up to stop the flow of fentanyl, to address issues at their border, to maintain border security on their side, and to be better partners. That’s what he’s trying to accomplish, and I think that’s what he’s achieved.”
Hagerty further stated that Trump also wants better trade reciprocity.
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