Chicago – January 15, 2025
President-elect Donald Trump announced plans on Tuesday to create a new government agency called the External Revenue Service (ERS). The agency would collect tariffs and other revenues from foreign nations.
“We will start charging those who profit off us through trade, and they will start paying,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social. He compared the ERS to the Internal Revenue Service, which handles domestic taxes.
Creating a new agency will require approval from Congress, where Republicans hold the majority in both the House and Senate. Critics have noted that existing agencies, like the Commerce Department and Customs and Border Protection, already handle similar functions.
Trump, who has promised to shrink the government, is also launching a task force called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Led by billionaire Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, DOG
