On the eve of President Donald Trump’s much-anticipated “Liberation Day,” the date when he is expected to launch a flurry of new tariffs intended to level the trade U.S. deficit with foreign nations, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt pushed back aggressively on media claims that they will only lead to consumer pain and higher prices.
Waving the receipts, Leavitt spoke in depth about some of the most egregious examples of U.S. goods being taxed at a higher rate by other countries. She cited a 700% markup on rice being imported to Japan and a 300% tariff in Canada on American butter and cheese.
“This makes it virtually impossible for American products to be imported into these markets, and it has put a lot of Americans out of business and out of work over the past several decades,” she declared.
One Washington Post headline on Tuesday — “Trump aides draft tariff plans as some experts warn of economic damage” — summed up the narrative that outlets are spinning ahead of President Trump’s economic upheaval. Most goods being imported into the U.S. will face a 20% tariff, according to details about the plans shared by sources.
The outlet writes that the tariffs, if enacted, “would almost immediately” cause Trump’s economy to “tumble into a recession that would last for more than a year,” citing an economist at Moody’s who called the outcome a worst-case scenario.