Chicago – October 25, 2024
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will say on Thursday that walling off the U.S. economy as proposed by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump would be “deeply misguided,” raising prices for American consumers and making U.S. companies less competitive.
Yellen, in excerpts of remarks to be delivered on Thursday afternoon to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, said that the U.S. cannot afford to return to past unilateral actions to advance its own economic and national security interests.
Yellen did not name Trump specifically, but referred to his calls for steep tariff hikes. Trump has proposed raising tariffs to 10% to 20% on virtually all U.S. imports, and to at least 60% on imports from China, with specific threats of up to 200% on individual companies such as John Deere DE.N if they move some production to Mexico.
Trump on Wednesday called tariffs “the most beautiful word in the world,” arguing that they would fuel U.S. manufacturing growth.
“Calls for walling America off with high tariffs on friends and competitors alike or by treating even our closest allies as transactional partners are deeply misguided,” Yellen said in the CFR excerpts released by the Treasury. “Sweeping, untargeted tariffs would raise prices for American families and make our businesses less competitive.”
