President Donald Trump's newly announced External Revenue Service (ERS) has sparked widespread criticism, with experts and officials questioning its effectiveness and potential impact on American consumers and businesses.
The ERS, unveiled by Trump on Monday, is intended to collect tariffs, duties, and revenue from foreign sources as part of an effort to overhaul the trade system and protect American workers and families.
\"Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich other countries, we will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens,\" Trump stated. \"It will be massive amounts of money pouring into our Treasury, coming from foreign sources.\"
However, critics argue that the plan may backfire, leading to higher costs for American consumers and businesses. Heather Long, an economic analyst and columnist for The Washington Post, warned that \"American consumers will end up paying these higher tariffs.\"
Long also pointed out that the United States already has the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency responsible for collecting tariffs and duties, suggesting that the creation of the ERS may be redundant.
Customs lawyer Richard Mojica expressed confusion over the ERS's proposed operations. \"Trump has created confusion by saying that the External Revenue Service would collect duties and tariffs 'that come from foreign sources'—a term that nobody understands,\" Mojica told The New York Times. \"I don't see how the ERS could collect tariff payments from a foreign manufacturer who is not also the U.S. importer of record.\"
Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon criticized the initiative, stating, \"No amount of silly rebranding will hide the fact that Trump is planning a multi-trillion-dollar tax hike on American families and small businesses to pay for another round of tax handouts to the rich.\"
The announcement follows a series of executive orders signed by Trump after his inauguration, including the imposition of a 25 percent tariff on imported goods from Canada and Mexico on February 1.
In response, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signaled that Canada would retaliate if tariffs are imposed. \"We will defend Canada, our workers, our businesses, our economy, and our sovereignty,\" Trudeau declared on Tuesday, emphasizing that \"everything is on the table.\"
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
