Trump's tariff deadline

Business & Economy

The Big Story

Trump stares down Feb. 1 tariff deadline

President Trump promised steep tariffs on longtime trading partners on Day 1. But they never materialized, raising questions about his trade agenda after months of threats.

On his first day in office, Trump issued a trade policy memo directing federal agencies to study U.S. trade with China and the trade deal with Canada and Mexico.

While he stopped short of levying new import taxes, Trump threatened 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting Jan. 1.

He also floated a 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods, far lower than previously calls for a 60 or even 100 percent tariff.

Some analysts noted Trump had pulled back on his China tariff threats and suggested he was having second thoughts about a potential trade war.

“This latest number is less than those threatened in the months leading up to this point, which indicates Trump may be open to caution when it comes to escalation,” Elizabeth Renter, an economist at NerdWallet, wrote in a commentary.

But open questions remain regarding the timing, size and scope of potential tariffs and the future of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

The Hill's Tobias Burns has more here.

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Tax Watch

Welcome to Tax Watch, a new feature in The Hill's Business & Economy newsletter focused on the fight over tax reform and the push to extend the 2017 Trump tax cuts this year.

Trump: ‘We have to get Democrats’ to approve tax cuts

President Trump said Thursday he’s working with Democrats on extending and building off of his 2017 tax cuts — one of the top legislative priorities for Republicans, who are split on many of the law’s wide-ranging provisions.

During an event in Davos, Switzerland, Trump suggested that passing another major tax package hinges on Democratic support, even as Republican lawmakers look to advance his agenda through a budget process that would allow the GOP to sidestep Democrats.

But House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Thursday that Trump had not reached out about a tax deal to Democrats. He added that his caucus does not approve of the Republican approach to make budget cuts while delivering tax cuts that he sees as skewed to the wealthy.

“Extreme MAGA Republicans want to enact massive tax cuts for billionaires and wealthy corporations and stick working class Americans with the bill. We’re not down with that approach.”

Read more here.

— Tobias Burns

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