US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday will reject Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s proposals to impose high tariffs on allies and competitors, describing such moves as “deeply misleading” weeks before the November 5 elections.
Her prepared remarks, which she will deliver in New York, come at a time when Trump has pledged to impose comprehensive tariffs on US imports, with a particularly high tariff level on Chinese goods.
The former president is running against Democrat Kamala Harris, whose term under President Joe Biden’s administration saw more targeted economic policies against countries like China.
“Calls to isolate America by imposing high tariffs on friends and rivals alike, or by treating our closest allies as transactional partners, are deeply misguided,” Yellen said in her speech at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Trump called for imposing tariffs of 10% to 20% on all imports and a higher rate of up to 60% on imports from China.
But Yellen warns that sweeping tariffs would raise costs for American households and make American companies less competitive.
The economy has always been a major issue for voters, according to exit polls leading up to the Nov. 5 election.
“We cannot even hope to advance our economic and security interests, such as opposing Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, if we act alone,” Yellen adds.
But the Treasury Secretary acknowledges that the United States also “cannot simply leverage the old playbook” when faced with challenges such as preparing for global pandemics, climate change and the need to deal with China’s excess industrial capacity.
She noted that trade and investment with China could bring gains to American companies and workers, stressing that Washington should aim to establish a “healthy economic relationship based on equal opportunities.”