- Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley drew a line between her and Trump's views on trade and Rates
- The former South Carolina governor said Trump's plan will cost thousands per taxpayer
- Her attack on the former president's trade plans comes at a time when she is behind in the polls, but she has vowed to stay in the race at least until South Carolina
Nikki Haley criticized former President Donald Trump for supporting a trade and tariff plan that she said will cost Americans thousands of dollars a year.
The former president has been open about his idea of imposing a blanket 10 percent tariff on all imported goods.
In addition to the 10 percent tariff, Trump has privately discussed imposing a huge 60 percent tariff to be applied to all imports from China, as first reported by The Washington Post.
“What Donald Trump is planning to do is he's going to increase every household's spending by $2,600 a year,” Haley said on CNBC. She cited a figure from the National Taxpayers Union.
“This is a man who now wants to impose 10 percent tariffs everywhere, raising taxes on every single American.” “Think about that for a moment,” Haley added.
“Under Donald Trump, the cost of everything from strollers to electronics will rise,” she continued. “Middle-class families can’t afford that.”
Haley criticized Trump over his trade and tariff plans, which she said would cost U.S. taxpayers thousands of dollars each year
Former President Donald Trump has said he wants a 10 percent tariff on all imports
Trump has considered imposing a 60 percent tariff on all goods imported from China
Trump even suggested that tariffs could be used to force auto companies to produce their cars in the United States
″[I] “We would require China and other countries, through tariffs or otherwise, to build factories here with our workers,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
If Trump were to implement his 10 percent tariff plan, it would result in an effective increase in taxes on U.S. consumers by more than $300 billion a year, according to the Tax Foundation, a Washington-based think tank.
According to a 2021 report from the US China Business Council, the Trump-China trade war cost an estimated 245,000 American jobs during the former president's time in office.
Haley's attack on the former president's trade plans comes at a time when she is trailing in the polls.
Trump leads Haley by 63 points in the Republican primary, according to a poll released today by Morning Consult.
Still, Haley has maintained that she will remain in the presidential race at least until the presidential primary in her home state of South Carolina. The primary election will take place on February 24th.
“It’s far from over,” Haley told CNBC. “And what I'm going to tell you is, look, [Trump] has literally gone off the rails since I got 43% of the vote in New Hampshire.'
Trump's camp responded to the accusation.
“President Trump has always stood with American workers and protected them by holding other countries accountable.” That's why he announced his plan to return jobs and wealth to the United States, ushering in an economic boom that will strengthen our middle class and eliminate our dependence on China and other countries, known as the Trump Reciprocal Trade Act, said Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung.
“Compare that to Nikki Haley, who sided with China and opposed tariffs on Chinese goods,” he continued. “In 2014, Haley asked the U.S. Department of Commerce to reduce tariffs on tires made in China by Giti Tire, which was in the process of building a $560 million plant in South Carolina. “The tariffs were originally imposed to compete with the heavy subsidies Chinese manufacturers receive from the Communist Party.”