On Wednesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Source,” Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) said that he thinks President Donald Trump’s economic policies will work and tariffs are tools to open up foreign markets to American businesses and as leverage on other issues, but “Tariffs [are] a tax, and it will be passed on[to] consumers.”
Mullin said, “It’s tough right now. And I understand that. I’m a business owner. We all make decisions based on two things: the way we’re raised and our life experience. Before politics, all I ever did was business. You need certainty, which is why we need tax policy that’s permanent, not that’s able to fade in and out. I’m not trying to get off on that subject, but I’m just saying that we need certainty in the business world. Tariffs [are] a tax, and it will be passed on[to] consumers. But it also allows us to have open markets.”
He continued, “So, if you want to have open markets and access to other markets — so, let’s go past Canada and let’s go past Mexico and start talking about the rest of the countries we allow to come in here that the president says, we want to have reciprocal…tariffs on you, if you’re going to charge us 36%, we’re going to charge you 36%. If you want to charge us zero, we’ll charge you zero. Every one of these countries want[s] access to the strongest and greatest economy in the world. That’s the United States. We don’t necessarily have to have their market, but if they’re going to have access to us, we want access to their markets.”
Mullin also stated that there are issues with illegality on the northern and southern border that some of the tariffs are designed to address and there has been some movement on that front, but not enough and, ultimately, Trump’s economic policies will succeed.
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
Read the full article here