WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris called former President Donald Trump’s tariff proposals “a sales tax on the American people” in an interview with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle.
President Joe Biden has also supported some tariffs and done little to roll back the tariffs Trump imposed as president. Harris, however, stressed that tariffs should not be imposed on all imports, as Trump has said he would do if he returns to the White House.
“You don’t just throw around the idea of tariffs on all fronts, and that’s part of the problem with Donald Trump,” Harris said.
“I say this in all sincerity, he’s just not very serious about how he thinks about some of these issues,” she continued. “And you have to be serious and have a plan, and a real plan that’s not just about a speech that ends up being a shout-out at a political rally, but actually thinking about what the return on investment is going to be, what the economic impact is going to be on ordinary people.”
During the debate this month, Trump said he would impose a 10% tariff on all imported goods and a 60% tariff on goods from China.
“Other countries are finally going to pay us back, after 75 years, for everything we’ve done for the world, and the tariffs are going to be substantial,” Trump said during the debate.
The questions came during Harris’ first one-on-one interview with a national network since becoming the Democratic nominee. Trump has criticized her for not doing more sit-down interviews.
Harris also said in the interview that corporate taxes should be raised to fund some of her policies to improve child care and housing affordability.
“We will have to raise corporate taxes,” she said.
“We need to make sure that the biggest corporations and billionaires pay their fair share,” she continued. “That’s the point. It’s about them paying their fair share.”
Her comments came in response to a question about how she would find the money to finance her proposals if she fails to raise corporate taxes or if Republicans take control of the Senate.
Harris has proposed expanding the child benefit, creating a tax break for homebuilders and providing a subsidy to first-time homebuyers.
The Trump campaign responded to Harris’ interview by criticizing her economic performance in the Biden administration.
The interview came shortly after Harris’ campaign rally in Pittsburgh, where she outlined her economic priorities.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
