Mike Pence: “The initial reciprocal tariffs that he unveiled

Posted on: May 19, 2025 at 12:31:59 CT

unveiled would be the largest peacetime tax hike on the American people in the history of this country,” Pence told moderator Kristen Welker, referring to the sweeping tariffs Trump imposed on the United States’ largest trading partners in early April.

We very much used the threat of tariffs as leverage for negotiations, Kristen,” Pence said, adding later: “What I see in this administration is a steady drive toward a baseline of maybe even 10% tariffs that I think would be harmful to jobs in America. It would be harmful to consumers in America.”

Pence also criticized Trump’s frequent line about who pays tariffs when they are imposed.

“As the president has said to me many times, he has a sense that other countries pay tariffs,” Pence said, “when the reality is, when Americans buy goods overseas, the company that imports those goods in this country pays the tariff and more often than not passes that along in higher prices to consumers.”

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/mike-pence-criticizes-trump-tariffs-key-foreign-policy-issues-watches-rcna206755